Reported by Daniel Li
In late spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic still rages on, with more and more confirmed cases everyday. With more people going to hospitals to receive treatment, healthcare workers are running out of personal protective equipment (PPE) and are put at a greater risk of being infected.
Due to the nature of the novel Coronavirus, many infected patients find it very difficult or impossible to breathe, leading to life threatening situations. In order to save lives, doctors often have to undergo a surgical process called intubations, where a tube is placed down the patient’s throat and into their windpipe to make it easier to get air into and out of their lungs. However, since it is a surgical procedure, there is a considerable chance of doctor-patient disease transmission.
AYLUS San Diego decided to send aid to essential workers by designing, building and donating intubation boxes to local hospitals, which will help protect nurses and doctors when performing intubation and other surgeries from contamination and reduce doctor-patient disease transmission.
Four students, Claire Jiang, Chengda Li, Chengming Li, and Anthony Jiang, took up the task. First, they extensively researched the topic and asked healthcare workers about the shortfalls of classical intubation boxes, then planned modifications to circumvent these problems. One major flaw of the previous box was that the size and build made it difficult for doctors to perform surgeries effectively or efficiently. To resolve this, the box’s width was increased, so it didn’t restrict the operator’s dexterity. In addition, many doctors and nurses also requested that the height of the box be increased, for more room. After making the necessary changes, the group created a GoFundMe, and used the funds raised to purchase custom cut sheets of Acrylic plexiglass, which was used to construct the box.
In the end, the four students constructed 16 intubation boxes, which they donated to various hospitals to provide safety to healthcare workers and combat doctor patient disease transmission.
These boxes were donated to many hospitals whose doctors needed more PPE equipment, such as Rady’s children’s hospital.
Through their efforts, these high school students were able to make an impact in their community by allowing for doctors to perform intubations and other life saving surgeries in safety.
Throughout May 2020, four AYLUS San Diego High School volunteers built and donated acrylic Intubation boxes to local hospitals.
