COVID-19 Swab Tests Made Safer with
New Booth System

A transparent and safer booth system called "Swab Assurance For Everyone", or SG SAFE in short, has been deployed at several foreign worker dormitories in Singapore where large-scale COVID-19 testing is being conducted. Developed by a team of Singapore General Hospital (SGH) doctors, the system makes it less nerve-wracking and tedious for healthcare workers to perform the high-risk swab tests.

The foldable transparent booth comes fitted with a pair of biosafety level 3 gloves. Healthcare workers are protected behind this booth during tests, saving both personal protective gear (PPE) and time taken to perform a swab. SGH has also designed a device called SG SHIELD that can be used in wards and clinics where there is no space for a booth system.

Ischaemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, and occurs when a blood clot is lodged in an artery and cuts off blood supply to the brain. Recent innovations in developing endovascular device-based methods have revolutionised the way clots lodged in larger brain vessels are extracted. The two main methods, aspiration (via large-bore catheters) and clot-capture (via stent-retrievers), can now result in recanalisation rates reaching as high as 80% to 90% of cases. Read more.

Dengue fever can sometimes lead to severe dengue - dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) - which is potentially life-threatening. However, early detection and proper medical care lower fatality rates below 1 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The Department of Infectious Diseases at Singapore General Hospital explains the warning signs and treatments available. Read more.