Top Canadian Hospital Adopts Medical Device, from MACH32 and Andau Medical, to Protect Against COVID-19

MACH32 and Andau Medical announced today that the Aerosol Containment Tent (ACT) has been successfully adopted by University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario to protect healthcare workers during aerosol-generating medical procedures. The ACT is a portable negative pressure device that captures infectious aerosols created during airway procedures, protecting healthcare workers and nearby patients from exposure to viruses, including COVID-19.

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Portable Negative Pressure with the Aerosol Containment Tent Decreases risk of Aerosol Transmission (Graphic: Business Wire)

With COVID-19 hospitalization and ICU usage rates climbing across Canada and setting record highs in Ontario, the ACT is a vital tool to expand hospital capacity and provide protection. “When our intensive care units (ICU) are nearing capacity, the Aerosol Containment Tent allows us to expand our ICU into non-traditional spaces and safely manage aerosol-generating medical procedures,” says Linda Flockhart, Clinical Director at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and Medical Surgery Intensive Care Unit, University Health Network. “By using the ACT, our healthcare workers can continue to deliver care to those who need it most while protecting themselves from the virus.”

The COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, is spread through aerosols and respiratory droplets. Common medical airway procedures, like intubation, extubation, BiPAP and CPAP, generate aerosols and are known as Aerosol-Generating Medical Procedures (AGMPs). Research demonstrates healthcare workers performing AGMPs wearing PPE alone are two times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to healthcare workers not performing AGMPs (El-Baghdadly et al. Anaesthesia 2020). The ACT creates a negative pressure zone around a patient’s head and shoulders which removes >99.9% of aerosols in less than nine seconds, allowing AGMPs to be performed safely.

“We are pleased that a top Canadian hospital, like Toronto General, is successfully using the ACT in the fight against COVID-19,” stated Dr. Marc Curial, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of MACH32. “This validates the need for portable negative pressure, which must become the standard of care to protect our healthcare workers from viral aerosol transmission. In partnership with the ACT distributor, Andau Medical, we look forward to deploying ACT units across the country to protect all healthcare workers and their patients.”

About MACH32

MACH32 Inc. was founded in 2019 by Dr. Marc Curial and Chris Terriff, P.Eng, two Edmonton-based entrepreneurs intent on developing practical solutions for the healthcare market. MACH32 is a start-up company, determined to create safe, reliable, functional tools to save lives in urgent situations. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea for the Aerosol Containment Tent (ACT) was rapidly designed and developed to protect Healthcare Workers from infectious aerosols. MACH32 product portfolio also includes drug-delivery systems for pre-hospital trauma care.

About Andau Medical

Andau Medical is a Canadian Medical Device and Dental Device company focused on providing the market with quality technologies that improve patient outcomes and enhance the clinical experience in delivering exceptional patient care. With expertise in sales, marketing, regulatory and distribution Andau Medical actively collaborates with manufacturers who have unique products that drive value in the delivery of patient care in Canada. The ACT is a Catalyst4care Project.

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