The University of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 (UVic) Engineering Department is 3-D printing parts to build face-shields for frontline health care workers on the Island.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a big need for different types of medical supplies given the current pandemic and one of the big issues is getting our frontline workers B次元官网网址� nurses and doctors B次元官网网址� personal protective gear so they can stay safe,B次元官网网址� Willerth explains.
B次元官网网址� Devon Bidal (@devonscarlett)
While UVic classes and on-campus research have been temporarily suspended since March due to the pandemic, about 24 research projects related to COVID-19 were granted exemptions; these include digital technologies, biomedical and genome research and the 3-D printing of equipment for frontline workers.
Stephanie Willerth, professor and director of biomedical engineering at UVic, is leading a team on campus to create face-shields for health care workers B次元官网网址� while following the orders from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
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B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a big need for different types of medical supplies given the current pandemic and one of the big issues is getting our frontline workers B次元官网网址� nurses and doctors B次元官网网址� personal protective gear so they can stay safe while trying to treat these patients,B次元官网网址� she explained.
Willerth got in touch with Island Health to ask how UVicB次元官网网址檚 Engineering Department could contribute to the fight against COVID-19 and was told the face-shields are scarce. After a B.C. doctor contracted COVID-19 at the end of March, face-shields became mandatory but there arenB次元官网网址檛 enough to go around, she said. In response, UVic has joined a community effort to produce the equipment using 3-D printers.
Several groups on the Island B次元官网网址� including Camosun College B次元官网网址� are working together virtually to produce approximately 125,000 face-shields per month for Island Health, Willerth said. With the help of a $10,000 donation from Coast Capital Savings, UVic is producing the equipment for Island Health free of charge.
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B次元官网网址淎t a time when there is a need to come together like never before, it is heartwarming to see the ingenuity and creativity such as what weB次元官网网址檙e seeing from our partners at UVic,B次元官网网址� said Maureen Young, director of community leadership at Coast Capital Savings.
The UVic team is creating the plastic headbands for the face-shield in the universityB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址減rint farmB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a room full of 3-D printers. The see-through shield portions are being laser-cut in Sidney and then dropped off at the campus to be assembled. With nine printers, UVic can produce about 54 face-shields per day.
Other companies in the region with 3-D printers B次元官网网址� such as Phillips Brewing B次元官网网址� are also printing the shields and dropping them off in a donation bin outside UVicB次元官网网址檚 Engineering Lab Wing, Willerth said. The design that UVic is using is the which is open-source B次元官网网址� meaning anyone can access it online, she explained.
Members of the public or organizations that have 3-D printers and the required materials are encouraged to contribute by printing the mask components and dropping them off in the designated donation bin, Willerth said. The UVic team will then wash and sterilize all the pieces, assemble the masks and seal them in bags to be delivered to workers on the frontline.
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