Coimbatore: With either vaccines or medications for COVID-19 not in the horizon, hand washing is touted as the single-most effective way to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus. The WHO-recommended hand washing techniques include usage of adequate amount of soap, rubbing the hands together to create friction for at least 20 seconds, and rinsing them under running water.
Coimbatore: With either vaccines or medications for COVID-19 not in the horizon, hand washing is touted as the single-most effective way to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus. The WHO-recommended hand washing techniques include usage of adequate amount of soap, rubbing the hands together to create friction for at least 20 seconds, and rinsing them under running water.
With many touching the sanitiser dispensers and the water taps with soiled hands, the risk of contamination doubles. Scientists of ICAR CIAE Regional Centre, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu have developed a touch-free hand wash system to address this problem.
The portable hand sanitizer unit can be adapted to suit the needs hospitals, offices, malls, crowded markets, railway station, industrial units, etc., say the scientists who are behind the invention.
How does it work?
The touch-free hand wash system is equipped with a water tank, photo diffuser sensor, 12VDC water pump, DC speed regulator, 12VDC battery, relay board, touch-free sanitizer dispensing unit, and a water disposing plastic hose. When the hands come near the sensor, it produces output pulse relay, which triggers the pump to turn it on. The pump in turn ensures the flow of liquid soap/water from tank to liquid soap/water outlet.A single relay can trigger up to 5 ml of hand wash from the touch-free dispenser unit and 100 ml of water from water tank. The discharge rate of liquid soap and water can be regulated based on necessity by using a DC regulator switch.
The system can be powered by AC current and provision has also been given to power it with a DC battery for portable use. A single complete charge of the battery will make the system work up to one day. Solar panel charging is part of the design too.
Cost
The cost of the system comes close to Rs.10,000. The touch-free soap hand sanitizer can either be standalone wall mounted or placed on a table. With the sensor-based system in place, water wastage can be reduced greatly.
For more details, contact:
Dr. T.Senthil Kumar,
Principal Scientist,
ICAR-CIAE, Coimbatore
Phone: +918015055606