UTeM's innovative COVID-19 screening booth wins gold medal at MTE 2020

MELAKA, Nov 4 -- An innovative COVID-19 screening booth developed by Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) researchers has won the gold medal in a special edition - Malaysia Technology Expo 2020 (MTE 2020) - which took place online from Sept 30 to Nov 2.

UTeM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Raha Abdul Rahim said the special booth could help reduce the burden on doctors as well as keep them safe as it is equipped with an ‘Ultra-Low Particulate Air’ (ULPA) filter which is believed to have a high-efficiency level of filtering particles measuring 0.12 microns.

She said the product developed by UTeM researchers led by UTeM Industrial Relations Centre director Assoc Prof Dr Kok Swee Leong and Prof Dr Zahriladha Zakaria was being used to screen patients suspected of being infected with Covid-19 at the Melaka Hospital.

"This project was developed by UTeM in collaboration with industry partners, AFA Technologies Sdn Bhd and ALPRO Engineering Sdn Bhd with advice from the Melaka Hospital.

"This success reflects on UTeM’s important role with the local community and the world in curbing this pandemic as well as proving UTeM's research expertise and innovation which continues to be recognised globally," she said in a statement here tonight.

She said in the special awards to commemorate COVID-19 related innovations, UTeM also won the ‘Euro Haller Business Award’ for the screening booth, while picking up the Merit Award for the ‘UTeM Face Shield’.

She said the face shield produced by UTeM’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Technology (FTKMP) was led by Assoc Prof Ir Dr Mohd Yuhazri Yaakob.

MTE 2020 was held to appreciate and celebrate all the innovative products produced during the COVID-19 pandemic covering various categories.

-- BERNAMA