A Dome-Shaped Aerosol Box for Protection During a Pandemic.

With the rise of COVID-19, the use of aerosol boxes when interacting with COVID-19 patients has increased. However, their use has been controversial. We have been involved in the development of a dome-shaped aerosol containment device with negative pressure (DAWN), an aerosol box that can maintain negative pressure inside at all times. There are two types of DAWN: one is mounted on a bed (bed type) and the other is mounted on a stretcher (stretcher type). Each device has its own characteristics and can be selected depending on the situation. The bed type has enough space inside to allow procedures to be performed easily. The stretcher type can be attached to a stretcher and can maintain negative pressure when the patient is being moved. Due to the negative pressure structure and easy change of nonwoven fabric adopted in both types of DAWN, it is expected to prevent the scattering of aerosol when it is removed, which is a problem of conventional aerosol boxes. DAWN will contribute to reducing the enormous psychological stress of medical personnel who treat infections, and will contribute to reducing aerosol dispersion.

Changes in platelet aggregation during cardiopulmonary bypass: comparison of poly-2-methoxyethylacrylate and heparin as a circuit coating material.

At present, there are various biomaterials that have high biocompatibility. In particular, there are many types of coated circuits in cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) systems. However, only a few clinical studies have investigated platelet aggregation caused by these coated circuits. In this study, a CPB system coated with poly-2-methoxyethylacrylate (X coating) was used to ascertain whether platelet aggregation could be suppressed during CPB, and a comparison was made between X coating and ordinary (covalently bonded) heparin coating. The subjects were 19 adult patients who were scheduled to undergo valve replacement or valvuloplasty. They were divided into two groups: group X (X coating) and group H (heparin coating). The platelet aggregation threshold index (PATI, grading curve) and beta-thromboglobulin and plalelet factor IV levels were assessed preoperatively (control), 5 min after heparin administration, 10 and 60 min after the start of CPB, and 0 and 2 h after the end of CPB. The results indicated that platelet aggregation was reduced during CPB and that platelets were activated. The changes in platelet aggregation associated with the X coating were shown to be similar to those associated with heparin coating.