Made in Vietnam: Cool Jackets helps frontline medical workers in Covid hot spots

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The cool jacket can help frontline medical workers feel more comfortable in the hot weather. Photo courtesy of HUST

Medical workers who conduct Covid-19 tests all day long have to suffer from summer’s scorching heat. Pham Dinh Gioi, one of the students, said seeing doctors and nurses faint on the floor because of having to wear protective suits in a long time in the hot weather, the students want to invent something to help cool down temperatures inside the suits.

Photo Vietnamplus

To address the problem, a group of HUST students have invented a cool jacket which consists of a vest and a water-contained backpack.

The structure of the cooling jacket consists of four layers: waterproof, insulation, antibacterial and a flexible pipe layer. The water in the pipe passes through an ice container placed in the backpack.

The jacket has four layers. Photo Vietnamplus

The 10 metre long water pipe runs throughout inside the vest, which helps cool the body of the wearer.

Photo Vietnamplus

Photo Vietnamplus

A phone backup charger is kept in a separate box to supply power for the pump.

Photo Vietnamplus

Those wearing the jacket can change the cooling temperature by adjusting the pump. About 300 grams of ice with about 300 to 400 ml of water can maintain the temperature at 26-27 degrees Celsius which is the temperature that the body can adapt to avoid thermal shock. The jacket can be kept cool in two to four hours and the charger can be used in eight to ten hours.

Photo Vietnamplus

Photo Vietnamplus

The one-kg cool jacket can be worn under the protective gear. Its cost is only one forth of other same products’ in the market. Depending on cooling needs, doctors and nurses can add ice to the water container without taking off their jackets.

Photo Vietnamplus

The temperature can reduce to below 30 degrees Celsius when doctors and nurses put on the jacket. Photo Vietnamplus

The jacket is made with the help of HUST's Institute of Textiles, Leather Footwear and Fashion. Photo Tien Phong

According to the students, there are many types of cool jackets in the markets but they are sold at a high price of VND2 million (USD87). It also takes time to wait for order from overseas.

The jacket invented by HUST students costs only VND500,000 and has all of the same products’ features.

The students said they wanted to improve the product’s features such as making the water container smaller. They will study attaching the container to the jacket but still ensure easy process of putting ice and water into the container.

The cook jacket is not only for frontline medical workers but can also used for labourers working under the sun or motorbike riders.

Since they came up with the cooking jacket idea, it took the team only one day to finish the product. With the assistance of HUST lectures, the students have completed 40 jackets and will send them to frontline medical workers in the Covid hot spots.

Ten jackets will be sent to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hà Nội. Photo Vietnamplus

Technicians at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on Giải Phóng Street, Hà Nội have invented cooling fans put under the protective gears to turn down body tempeeratures of health workers in the summer. Photo Giao Duc Thoi Dai Luu Thien Truong, head of medical equipment and supplies department of the hospital, said that the cooling fan weighed about 350-400g and had two smaller fans, one backup battery, one connecting cable, one power charger and a strap to wear the device on. The compact fan design is very convenient so that the fans can be worn under a protective suit. “The fan is battery-powered and attached to a belt. It can run non-stop for up to five to six hours. We are improving the fan’s features to be able to widely put in into use,” he said. The cooling fan is described as being able to blow away sweat and heat. Doctors and nurses will be more comfortable without feeling itchy or wet.

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