Transforming shipping containers into emergency COVID-19 medical center
Everyone is looking at this pandemic virus that is affecting more and more industries and causes so much damage to our modern society. Trying to overcome the panic and save resources, an international task force of designers, engineers, medical professionals, and military experts have joined forces to work on this project and build a few intensive care pods by using new or used shipping containers.
Connected Units for Respiratory Ailments, also known as CURA are first built in the city of Milan, Italy and the units could be mounted as fast as a hospital / military tent, but they are safe as an isolation ward, thanks to biocontainment with negative pressure. The project uses repurposed shipping containers to create plug-in biocontainment pods that can be quickly deployed in cities around the world, promptly responding to the shortage of ICU space in hospitals. ( Intensive-Care Units )
CURA is a compact intensive-care pod for patients with respiratory infections, hosted in a 20-foot intermodal container with biocontainment. Each unit works autonomously and can be shipped anywhere. Individual pods are connected by an inflatable structure to create multiple modular configurations, which can be deployed in just a few hours. Pods can be placed in proximity to a hospital to expand the ICU capacity, while others could be used to create self-standing field hospitals of varying sizes.
CURA aims to improve the efficiency of existing solutions in the design of field hospitals, adapting to the current pandemic. Hospitals in the countries most affected by COVID-19 have been struggling to increase their ICU capacity to admit the growing number of patients with severe respiratory diseases. As the pandemic evolves, more ICUs will be needed internationally in the next few months most likely
Shipping containers can easily be moved through different modes of transport and re-used in different parts of the world, CURA pods are being conceived as a ready-to-use solution. Each pod would contain all the medical equipment needed for two COVID-19 intensive-care patients — including ventilators and intravenous fluids stands.
CURA is developed in an open-source, non-for-profit framework and solicits suggestions and improvements via its website. Such a great project for the entire humanity. Let’s stay strong and let’s stay healthy, try to stay at home and let professionals do their best to treat and stop this outbreak.
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