The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) sealed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with The Medical City Iloilo (TMCI) for the partnership on the implementation of the DOST-funded project, “Commercialization of the Oil-Based Thermal Disinfection Technology to Treat Infectious and Pathological Healthcare Waste,” also known as the Oil-Based Thermal Disinfection Technology (OBTDT) Project.
The signing of the said agreement took place at the New SOTECH Building, UP Visayas in Miagao, Iloilo on October 11, 2023. This event was graced by the presence of the key individuals of TMCI spearheaded by Dr. Felix Ray P. Villa (President and Chief Executive Officer of TMCI) along with Dr. Ma. Sancha Pauline Apolito-Garcia, FPPS (Director of Clinical and Translational Research Institute), Mr. Patrick Joseph B. Jalandoni (Chief Officer of Health Information Management, Research and Innovations), Mr. Prince Juliene Hermaine C. Celo (Chief Officer of Marketing and Sales), Ms. Bea Nestie Angeli L. Villareal (Manager of Health Information Management, Research and Innovations), and Mr. Brian Nicole A. Valencia (Assistant Manager of Continuous Improvement Hub). UPV was represented by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension, Dr. Harold M. Monteclaro and the project leader, Dr. Ramer P. Bautista, with the presence of Dr. Victor Marco Emmanuel N. Ferriols, Director of the UPV Regional Research Center, and some of the SOTECH faculty and staff.
Considering the sudden increase in the amount of hospital waste due to COVID-19, there is now a more pressing need for a cheaper treatment alternative that is equally or even more effective than the available technologies. And with the financial limitations of the healthcare facilities and lack of available treatment facilities especially in Western Visayas, particularly in Iloilo, the OBTDT Project aims to offer an alternative treatment option for infectious and pathological waste which provides lower equipment and operational costs, as well as, simpler and safer operational conditions. As the name suggests, this technology uses vegetable oil as its treatment medium operating at 170 to 200°C.
The agreement involves the approval of the TMCI to house the fabricated equipment that applies the said technology and utilize it in the pretreatment of their generated infectious and pathological wastes.
This agreement is another step taken by the School of Technology (SOTECH) on its recent goal of bridging the industry and the academe through research and development collaborations.
