Three hospitals in Yogyakarta have utilized the UGM swab sampling booth for Covid-19 patients. Those hospitals are UGM Academic Hospital, Panembahan Senopati Bantul Hospital, and Yogyakarta Regional Hospital. Gama Swab Research team member and a lecturer at the Department of Computer Science and Electronics, Dr. Raden Sumiharto, S.Si., M.Kom, said gama swab is a facility to perform swab test comfortably and safely because it can protect the patients and health workers. “We aim to build a safe and comfortable swab test facility, as a form of UGM contribution in handling Covid-19,” said Sumiharto on Thursday (9/7).
According to Sumiharto, the Gama swab booth, which was launched at the end of April, was inspired by his concern at seeing his wife’s work, struggling to treat Covid-19 patients. He also wants to make a booth that makes it easier for health workers to take samples without wearing PPE clothes completely. The idea was shared with other research team colleagues from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health UGM, Vocational School UGM, and UGM Academic Hospital. “Incidentally, the wife of a pulmonary specialist at the Panembahan Senopati Hospital, Bantul, interacts with Covid-19 every day,” he said. According to Sumiharto, to make this swab booth, he and the team also asked for input from the hospital’s experience in taking samples. If previously, the sampling conducted indoors, the aerosol around the room would be a medium for covid-19 transmission; thus, decontamination was done for up to 5-10 minutes after sampling. The decontamination process makes patient waiting times longer and makes it difficult for medical staff who continuously use complete PPE in the room.
The Gama swab booth is designed with a size of 1.2 x 1.2 x 2 meters and is equipped with an H14-hepa filter; thus, it can filter viruses that enter the room. Operators only need to use PPE levels 1 and 2 and can use the booth. This room is also equipped with UV light so that it is always sterile. “Aerosol outside will not enter, and a hepa filter will filter the air that enters the room,” he said.
Besides, the use of this Gama swab booth can be done outdoors and move places. The advantage of taking swab samples outdoors, according to him, will kill the virus when exposed to sunlight when taking it right in the daytime.
Aside from having a hepa filter, this gama swab room is also equipped with an air cooler, microphone, hand rub, swab hole, positive pressure fan, exhaust filter, UV lamp, glove, disinfectant, and disinfectant pedal.
According to him, making the swab booth was carried out using scientific principles and global health standards. However, he hopes that this gama swab booth can be used in other areas. He opens opportunities for cooperation for parties who want to use the concept of the gama swab booth. “We want our health workers to be safe and comfortable when taking swab samples, no longer having to wear complete PPE,” he concluded.
