Arbat Safety Box

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Live Interview for Bronchoscopy Safety Box - Dr Sameer Arbat - ABP Majha

News coverage News18 for Dr Sameer Arbat's invention Bronchoscopy Safety Box

Design Elements Of Safety Box

Key Points —

Aerosol safety box for minimising aerosol infection.
Useful in Bronchoscopy Procedures, Bronchoscopy Guided Intubation, Endo-tracheal Intubation.
Simple design, easy to fabricate, disinfect, reusable.
Can be used for suspected/confirmed infective patients.

Design

Frame made of acrylic sheets.
2 operator apertures, 1 assistant aperture and 1 bronchoscopy aperture.
Prototype 1 – Each aperture is covered with a PVC Sheet Valve which opens and closes with entry and exit of hands as well as the bronchoscope.
Prototype 2 – Gloves attached to 3 apertures for use by operator and assistant.
Additional aperture for connecting a wall mounted negative suction cannula.
Patient end has PVC sheet curtains to accommodate shoulders/chest of patient.
Can be disinfected with 70% alcohol or bleach. (Use local guidelines)

Advantages

Advantages of Bronchoscopy Safety Box —

Bronchoscope Aperture for performing Bronchoscopy Procedures and EBUS.
Assistant Aperture for guidance.
All Apertures are tightly covered with PVC valves (Prototype 1) or Gloves (Prototype 2).
Negative Suction Port for removing aerosols generated inside the box.
PVC sheets at patient end for minimising aerosol release outside the box.
Complete Box assembly can be disinfected easily with 70% alcohol or bleach.
Multi-utility box useful in ICUs for Bronchoscopy Procedures and Intubation.
Useful in patients of all infective aetiologies eg: H1N1, COVID-19, MDR-TB, XDR-TB, TB etc.

Expert Comments on Safety Box

Expert Comments by Professor Stefano Gasparini, Ancona, Italy

"The safety box is an interesting proposal to reduce the spreading of the virus in the surrounding environment during bronchoscopy. Operator must wear PPE while performing bronchoscopy in suspected COVID-19 patients. The utility of this box was highly appreciated by Pulmonologists in Italy and we have named it the 'Arbat Safety Box.'"

Expert Comments by Dr. Ashok Mahashur, Senior Consultant, Hinduja Hospitals, Mumbai

"Excellent and thoughtful invention. Why only on COVID-19 patients, it seems ideal for scoping any patient carrying risk of transmitting infection like MDR-TB. Dr Sameer deserves special appreciation for this innovation."

The Journey

Sameer Arbat, young Interventional Pulmonologist from Nagpur is the pioneer of Interventional Pulmonology in Central India. He is the first doctor to have Central India's only EBUS and Cryotherapy setup. He has received many awards at national conferences and has many national and international publications to his name. He is the youngest International Faculty to teach at WABIP Program. He has performed more than 800 Interventional procedures including Cryotherapy, EBUS, Endobronchial Debulking and Thoracoscopy.

The Bronchoscopy Safety Box was conceptualised and designed in March 2020 by Dr Arbat after he witnessed the bronchoscopy procedure images of doctors from Italy who were getting exposed to COVID-19 cross infection. He designed the first prototype by using existing acrylic sheets and plastic materials available in the hospital as all vendors were shut due to the lockdown.

"There is a lot of cross-infection risk involved in performing bronchoscopy procedures with patients of COVID-19. The idea of the safety box came to my mind after I saw some designs being used for intubation in other countries. I improvised it to act as a multipurpose box for performing bronchoscopy as well as intubation procedures. I believe it should be useful for all doctors all over the world. It is advisable for the doctors and staff to wear proper Personal Protective Equipment for maximum safety" — Dr Sameer Arbat.

On 2nd April, the Italian Society of Pulmonologists broadcasted Dr Sameer Arbat's invention at an international webinar. Dr. Stefano Gasparini, one of the pioneers of bronchoscopy in the world and Ex-President of WCBIP, was chairing this broadcast and highlighted the importance of this invention and has named it the "Arbat Safety Box". He stressed on the need for the doctors to use adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and have a negative pressure system installed in all bronchoscopy suites. The "Arbat Safety Box" has received a special mention in the "Position Paper on Bronchoscopy in COVID-19: Role & Modalities" published internationally by the Italian Thoracic Society & Italian Society of Pulmonologists.

Arbat Safety Box : Publications

Indian Journal of Respiratory Care
Eurasian Journal of Pulmonology
Egyptian Journal of Bronchology
Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences
Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth
MGM Journal of Medical Sciences
Libyan International Medical University Journal
Journal of Research in Medical Sciences

Arbat Safety Box : International Recognition

Presentation at AIPO — 2nd April 2020:The Italian Society of Pulmonologists broadcasted Dr Sameer Arbat's invention at an international webinar. Dr. Stefano Gasparini, Ex-President of WCBIP, was chairing this broadcast and named it the “Arbat Safety Box”.

18th April 2020:The “Arbat Safety Box” received a special mention in the “Position Paper on Bronchoscopy in COVID-19: Role & Modalities” published internationally by the Italian Thoracic Society & Italian Society of Pulmonologists.

aiponet.it — Position Paper on Bronchoscopy in COVID-19