In close collaboration with TU Delft students and a few other valuable stakeholders, DELMIC and Performance Sails, FLEX/design managed to realize the MediTent, a pop-up Corona test center, in just a few weeks. And, we were definitely in need for speed in this case! It allows our healthcare workers to safely testing patients for the presence of COVID-19 disease symptoms and perform necessary medical measurements without any protective equipment. MediTent will bring quite a relief to the Dutch healthcare sector, confronted with an increasing shortage of protective clothing and equipment.
During a viral outbreak, like COVID-19, there is a sudden need for material to test patients for the presence of disease symptoms in a safe way. Today many people with COVID-19 related health complaints worry and desire a doctor’s clarity soonest, increasing the pressure at that side to the max. At least certain medical measurements of a patient – like breathing rate, ear temperature, and oxygen saturation – are necessary to establish a proper diagnosis. However, protective materials are in increasingly short supply, and besides wearing protective clothing for extended periods is very uncomfortable. In the current situation, medical examiners run an increased risk of being infected by their patients. Dutch family doctor Pieter van der Staay sounded the alarm at TU Delft students, and soon FLEX/design volunteered to support and to participate in this project.
We take pride in the design of MediTent, a pop-up Corona test center, which aims to solve these problems. It’s is a mobile solution that can easily be placed outside any healthcare center. The tent has two entrances and a transparent wall in the middle with integrated medical gloves and stethoscope connectors. This wall divides MediTent into two separate sections, completely sealed off from each other, allowing a healthcare worker and patient to see each other while enabling the healthcare worker to conduct a medical examination safely.
The smart design of the MediTent makes the whole process as easy as possible. We chose to use common materials to ensure availability. A modular tube frame on the outside of the tent ensures easy assembly and high cleanability of the inside surface. The knock-down nature of a tent optimizes transport efficiency.
We all enjoyed being part of this process, using our creative spirits to help our healthcare workers with the already excessive workload in this crisis! Thanks to our hard-working, talented interns Robbie and Kiki, designers Phil and Luke, TU Delft students and coach Bart Bleumink, the experts at DELMIC (producer of correlative light and electron microscopy solutions) and Peter Vink of Performance Sails, we were able to realize the MediTent working prototype in just a few weeks. Stay tuned for the next exciting steps!
