This photo, provided by KAIST on Jan. 7, 2021, shows a mobile clinic module installed at the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences in northeastern Seoul.
DAEJEON, March 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patent applications for negative pressure wards, isolation and treatment facilities for virus patients, increased sharply in South Korea last year, the intellectual property office said Tuesday.
The annual number of patent applications for negative pressure wards shot up to 63 last year after hovering at two or three cases during the period between 2011 and 2019, according to the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO).
Last year’s figure was almost triple the 23 patent applications registered between 2011 and 2019.
By type of technology, patent applications for mobile and fabricated negative pressure wards accounted for the largest share at 54.7 percent or 47 cases.
These new solutions include air tents using air frames, pre-fabricated modular wards, and fabricated containers, all aimed at making moving and installation easier and enabling the extension of negative pressure wards.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 51.2 percent of last year’s negative pressure ward-related patent applications.
“SMEs have actively applied for negative pressure ward-related patents since these facilities, in general, are associated with construction and engineering,” the KIPO said.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
