Start-up develops portable hosp unit for virus care

Called ‘MediCAB,’ it is a decentralised approach to detect, screen, identify, isolate and treat COVID-19 patients in their local communities through these portable microstructures.

‘MediCAB’ has been launched recently in Wayanad District of Kerala, where the units are being deployed to treat COVID-19 patients. The startup is developing micro-hospitals that can be deployed rapidly across the nation.

The MediCAB is foldable and is composed of four zones – a doctor’s room, an isolation room, a medical room/ward and a twin-bed ICU, maintained at negative pressure.

Shreeram Ravichandran, Chief Executive Officer, Modulus Housing, said, “The outcome of this pilot project in Kerala will help in proving the applicability of the technology and advantages of micro-hospitals, with MediCAB as an instant infrastructure solution. It can be easily assembled in eight hours by four people. When folded, our collapsible cabins are reduced five-fold, making it very cost-effective for transportation.”

“Unlike urban areas where there is plenty of existing infrastructures that can be converted to hospitals, rural areas do not have a lot of infrastructures,” he said, adding “It is difficult to construct buildings from scratch as the requirement is immediate. As the rural population density is relatively low, more micro-hospitals help greatly in tackling COVID-19 cases.”

According to him, Modulus is working on a dual design where these can be rapidly launched as COVID-19 isolation wards. Post-COVID-19, these can be transformed into micro-hospitals/clinics in rural India where the medical infrastructure needs to be augmented. Modulus Housing has set up its manufacturing unit at Chengalpattu. Their flagship project, foldable cabins are modular, portable, durable, easy to set up and can be customised as per the requirements of the customer. The USP of MediCABS is that Modulus makes use of a novel technology of collapsible structures. It comes equipped with a prefabrication modular technology and a telescopic frame that allows the model to be shrunk to 1/5th of its original size.