When COVID19 cases began to increase in the southern state of Karnataka, a medical task force highlighted the various measures required to brace for the onslaught of patients. One of them was bed availability. Soon, there were several reports emerging that Bangalore hospitals were short of beds, leading to more concern and stress on doctors and citizens.

Around the time the pandemic began, there were already widespread concerns over how any healthcare system in the country would be able to manage this workload. Considering COVID19 is highly contagious, it required patients to be in isolation. Somehow, all these concerns were effectively rolled into one innovative product – Vevra Pods.

Vevra is actually an engineering and architecture firm that executes a range of projects in industrial, automation, hospitality, retail and IT. Mahesh Krishnachari, director and founder of Vevra, closely followed the COVID19 updates across India and decided to build a portable, movable and state of the art healthcare pod that could easily address the challenge of bed shortage as well ensure the appropriate levels of hygiene for every user of the pod.

The Vevra pods are IoT-driven and are linked to the ViGIE platform, developed by InnoWave. The platform collects and visualises data from different sensors installed within these pods, providing real-time alarms if environmental conditions change. There are antechamber airlock rooms with antibacterial walls and surface for maximum safety. The pods also control the quantity and quality of the air being circulated in and out of the room with a minimum of 12 air changes per hour through HEPA filters, UVC lights, high-end exhaust system with PLC integrated air conditioning system to help in maintaining the temperature and humidity within. There are five variants: general pod, ICU pod, doctors stay pod, operation theatre pod, and scanning room pod, with each pod being able to accommodate upto 9 beds. Vevra Pods are ideal not only for rural settings, but also in urban hospitals where COVID or any airborne disease isolation can be a challenge. Krishnachari says these pods can be used upto 25 years with relatively low maintenance. They’re currently working on integrating ventilator support in these pods too.

The solution has caught the fancy of government officials like MLA Sudhakar, Minister for Medical Education, Govt of Karnataka who tweeted about it.

The pod prototype has been built and is undergoing trials. Krishnachari says, “Everyone should be able to receive the highest level of treatment and healthcare amenities. It cannot be restricted only to those living in urban areas. And solutions like Vevra Pods, enabled by technologies like IoT and AI, will help us bridge the gaps in healthcare today.”