Norweign company EpiGuard’s innovative single patient isolation and transport system is now being pushed for use in the cruise industry.
The pod allows safe transport of contagious patients, on cruise ships. It completely isolates the patient while at the same time allows for necessary care and treatment during transport, says Ellen Cathrine Andersen, CEO of EpiGuard.
“The cruise ship industry must prepare for contagious infections among passengers or crew members. Having an EpiShuttle onboard increases preparedness and lower the risk of an uncontrolled virus outbreak,” she added.
Major cruise line companies, such as Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruise, have already started to implement new and detailed safety policies including health screening before embarking. As all cruise companies adapt, major players look into how to mitigate risk by adding new technology to handle any new outbreaks.
The EpiShuttle allows patient monitoring and full intensive care treatment during transport, including emergency procedures like intubation and insertion of central venous catheters. In addition, for Covid-19 patients, the adjustable backrest is extremely important in order to keep coughing at a minimum. The backrest and the spacious transparent hard-top, makes the EpiShuttle comfortable. Comfort and reduced feeling of constriction for the patients inside the EpiShuttle were important aspects when designing the product, Andersen explains.
The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of access to protective equipment, and safe transport of infected patients is crucial. The EpiShuttle is in use worldwide during the pandemic, in hospitals and in both air- and road ambulances, protecting health care workers and saving lives. To fulfill the promises made to passengers and crewmembers, having an EpiShuttle on board all cruise ships could be part of the new safety standard onboard.
The EpiShuttle is now in use in the British, Canadian, Norwegian and Danish air forces, as well as several EMS services all over the world. It is NATO stock listed and CE-marked as a class one medical device. Now, we will also serve the Cruise industry, Andersen concludes.
EpiGuard is a Norwegian company established in 2015 providing better solutions for safe transportation of contagious patients. Our team of medical experts and engineers developed the EpiShuttle based on analysis and clinical first-hand experience from previous global epidemics. Our medical background ranges from intensive care, infectious diseases, internal medicine and anesthesiology, and transport medicine. EpiShuttle improves patient safety and care, the safety for health care providers, reduce costs and increase operational efficiency. The EpiShuttle is NATOs stock listed and CE-marked as a class one medical device. Through LifePort, the EpiShuttle is registered with both the FDA and Health Canada.
