covid 19 isolation

Toronto just got futuristic pods to help with isolation of COVID-19 patients

A local company is donating highly-specialized personal protective equipment to Toronto Paramedic Services to help in their fight against COVID-19, and the new medical tool looks like something straight out of the future. 

AirBoss Defense Group, which is part of AirBoss of America Corp., just announced that they're donating five "negative-pressure individual patient isolation and transportation systems" to the service, also known as ISO-PODs. 

The ISO-POD provides protection for first responders as well as patients, all while simultaneously allowing for life-saving medical procedures.

Similar equipment was successfully used during the Ebola and MERS crises, and ISO-PODS are also being used to fight COVID-19 by first responders in the U.S.

"We're grateful to AirBoss for this donation during the ongoing pandemic," said Gord McEachen, chief of Toronto Paramedic Services, in a statement

"If required, these ISO-POD units can be utilized to transport patients infected with any highly contagious disease, including COVID-19, in total isolation while ensuring the safety of our paramedics and other frontline healthcare workers."

The ISO-PODS are extremely easy to store or deploy and take under two minutes to set up, making them ideal for an emergency.  

"Getting our equipment into the hands of first-responders and medical professionals will save lives – the lives of patients and the people administering care," said Chris Bitsakakis, president and COO of AirBoss of America. 

"We're in this fight together. It’s certainly a point of pride to know our ISO-PODs will be available to help protect paramedics and patients in Toronto."

Lead photo by

SW Nebraska Public Health Dept


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