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Study Demonstrates UV-C Light Is Effective for Killing COVID-19 on N95s

AHA Publisher — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 07:00:47 +0000

Henry Ford Health System via EurekAlert – Dermatology researchers at Henry Ford Health System, in collaboration with a team at the University of Michigan, have demonstrated that certain N95 respirators tainted with COVID-19 can be effectively and safely decontaminated for reuse using ultraviolet-C light (UV-C), a method commonly utilized for treating rare skin diseases. Researchers say the outside and inside of the facemasks were decontaminated in a prototype phototherapy unit that dispenses a UV-C dosing level high enough to effectively kill the virus in less than two minutes while still preserving the facemask’s breathability, fit and overall integrity. Of the five N95s used at Henry Ford and tested for the coronavirus in the study, the decontamination process worked best on two models – facepieces on 3M 1860 and Moldex 1511 and straps on 3M 8210 and Moldex 1511. The effects of the dosage varied on the other tested models and their straps, suggesting that the UV-C radiation can degrade them. Researchers say wiping the straps with ethanol before decontamination would likely be required as an additional disinfection step in the process to maximize the wearer’s safety. Researchers emphasized that fit testing be required each time a disinfected facemask is returned for use or a new model is being worn for the first time. The research, conducted in partnership with the University of Michigan, is published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. “Our findings reveal a practical, and viable option should hospitals encounter shortages of N95s in the future,” says David Ozog, M.D., chair of Henry Ford’s Department of Dermatology in Detroit and the study’s lead author. “Using UV-C has been shown to be effective in killing other coronaviruses and the flu virus. We were able to replicate that sterilization effectiveness with COVID-19.” Ozog stressed that facemask sterilization should only be used in severe shortages of N95s. Testing of the N95s for decontamination was performed at U-M’s SARS-CoV-2 research lab in Ann Arbor. “When Dr. Ozog approached us about helping to demonstrate the effectiveness of their UV sterilization procedure with live SARS-CoV-2 virus, we immediately agreed and understood that we could provide some confidence to their healthcare workers that this procedure was effective,” says Jonathan Sexton, Ph.D., assistant professor of Internal Medicine and director of the U-M Center for Drug Repurposing and a study co-author. The research culminated the work of a team of dermatologists and researchers who have devoted more than 400 hours since the pandemic hit Michigan to investigating how phototherapy – a type of medical treatment used for treating certain skin conditions – could serve a role in the global health emergency. The Henry Ford team includes Henry Lim, M.D., and Iltefat Hamzavi, M.D., both of whom are internationally recognized for their expertise using phototherapy for treating rare skin diseases like vitiligo and hidradenitis suppurativa. The team’s focus centered on the potential of decontamination contaminated N95s for reuse by healthcare workers. They examined the reliability of the prototype unit and ultraviolet light, the minimum dosage needed for decontamination, the importance of fit testing post-decontamination and four common methods associated with facemask decontamination. The pandemic exposed a critical flaw in the global PPE supply chain as the health care industry struggled to obtain supplies of N95s, other facemask types, gowns, gloves and face shields. As a result, decontaminating N95s to be reused safely became essential for many health care systems and providers until new shipments of supplies arrived. Henry Ford decontaminated thousands of N95s and returned them to their user for reuse in the first couple months of the pandemic. “The beginning of the pandemic was physically and mentally overwhelming for everyone. We desperately wanted to help our front-line workers, who were crushed with COVID-19 cases at Henry Ford,” Dr. Ozog says. UV-C is one of the four methods considered for facemask decontamination. It is well known for its ability to penetrate the DNA of bacteria and microorganisms and prevent them from multiplying or replicating. Previous research has shown UV-C to be effective at killing the flu virus as well two other well- known coronaviruses: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV). Whether it could work on the novel COVID-19 virus was previously unknown. Henry Ford’s phototherapy unit was modified with the help of engineers at Daavlin Co., a phototherapy manufacturer based in Bryan, Ohio. It sits on a flat surface and is about five feet long. The decontamination field measures 15 inches deep by 45 inches long – plenty room to treat up to 27 facemasks at one time. The ultraviolet light is powered by at least 10 but not more than 20 UV-C lamps. For the study, five types of N95s used at Henry Ford were tested at the U-M BSL3 biosafety lab. The respirators were contaminated with four drops of the COVID-19 virus taken from viral stocks obtained from the federal government’s Biodefense and Emergency Infections Research Resources Repository. The virus droplets were placed in four areas: nosepiece, apex, chin and strap. The facemasks were kept dry in a biosafety cabinet at room temperature for 40 minutes. Then they were moved to the phototherapy unit for decontamination using a dose of 1.5 J/cm2 ultraviolet light radiation – at a wavelength of 254 nanometers – to each side of the mask for about 60 seconds. Ultraviolet radiation is measured in three wavelengths: UV-C, UV-B and UV-A. UV-B and UV-A are associated with skin cancer and are also used in the treatment of some dermatologic diseases such as vitiligo and psoriasis. Indermeet Kohli, Ph.D, a Henry Ford dermatology physicist, developed a formula by which the UV-C dose delivered to the exterior and interior parts of the facemasks can be assessed for decontamination and safe use. She says the curvature of the facemask and the distance between its surface and the lamps are crucial factors in achieving the proper dosage. “It is imperative that this type of assessment be performed to make sure that the decontamination process is done properly,” Dr. Kohli says. “Failure to do so could result in catastrophic consequences for the front-line healthcare workers.” The effectiveness of decontamination was measured in analytical chemistry terms by the limit of detection (LOD) and no cytopathic effect (CPE). LOD is the minimum concentration of a component that can be reliably detected. CPE means the virus yielded no infectious properties. All five facepieces had below LOD and no CPE but some had traces of the virus on their straps, according to the research. Researchers cautioned that none of the N95s tested were visibly soiled. Most health systems including Henry Ford prohibit the reuse of soiled N95s. In a Letter to the Editor published in Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine, Shanthi Narla, M.D., a Henry Ford dermatology fellow, urged caution about using UV-C decontamination due to the variety of N95s in use across the country. “This process should only be considered as a risk mitigation effort during severe shortages,” she wrote. In a demonstration of the prototype unit, the facemasks are placed on a stainless-steel tray, separated by autoclave tape to keep them from touching each other. Once one side of the facemask is treated, it’s flipped over to perform a separate decontamination. Researchers say any visibly soiled masks should not be treated but rather properly disposed as medical waste. “Considering that many healthcare providers are using substitutes for N95s that offer very limited degree of protection, using (UV-C) and repurposing phototherapy devices could be the best practical solution at this time,” Dr. Hamzavi wrote in Letter to the Editor published online in JAAD. Researchers stressed that not all N95s are created equal and may not withstand decontamination. Degrading may occur in the facemask’s outer surface and the elasticity of the bands. Thus, researchers underscored the importance of fit-testing after decontamination in a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Health care workers are fit-tested every year with their N95 to ensure a proper fit and no air can penetrate the outer edges. UV-C is one of the four common methods used in health care to sterilize N95s. Hydrogen peroxide vaporization, microwave generated steaming and dry heating also have shown to be effective in varying degrees. UV-C and HPV are also commonly used for disinfecting patient care units, surgical suites and intensive care units in the health care setting. Only the UV-C method was used in the Henry Ford study. Researchers strike a cautionary tone for N95 decontamination no matter the method. “Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, extreme measures are needed to keep those on the front line protected,” says Angela Torres, M.D., a Henry Ford dermatology fellow and lead author in a study published online in Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences. “These options are cost effective, quick to employ and have the potential to save many lives and valuable resources.” However, Dr. Torres says, discarding a contaminated disposable N95 after a single use is “still ideal.” To read the original article click here.

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Ozone Disinfection Could Allow Safe Reuse of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

AHA Publisher — Sun, 12 Jul 2020 07:00:29 +0000

Georgia Institute of Technology via Newswise– ‘A new study shows that ozone gas, a highly reactive chemical composed of three oxygen atoms, could provide a safe means for disinfecting certain types of personal protective equipment that are in high demand for shielding health care personnel from Covid-19. Conducted by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology using two pathogens similar to the novel coronavirus, the study found that ozone can inactivate viruses on items such as Tyvek gowns, polycarbonate face shields, goggles, and respirator masks without damaging them – as long as they don’t include stapled-on elastic straps. The study found that the consistency and effectiveness of the ozone treatment depended on maintaining relative humidity of at least 50% in chambers used for disinfection. “Ozone is one of the friendliest and cleanest ways of deactivating viruses and killing most any pathogen,” said M.G. Finn, chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who led the study. “It does not leave a residue; it’s easy to generate from atmospheric air, and it’s easy to use from an equipment perspective.” Findings of the research are described in a paper posted to the medRxiv preprint server and will be submitted to a journal for peer review and publication. Ozone can be produced with inexpensive equipment by exposing oxygen in the atmosphere to ultraviolet light, or through an electrical discharge such as a spark. During local and regional peaks in coronavirus infection, shortages of PPE can force hospitals and other health care facilities to reuse PPE that was intended for a single use. Health care facilities have used ultraviolet light, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, heat, alcohol and other techniques to disinfect these items, but until recently, there had not been much interest in ozone disinfection for PPE, said Finn, who also holds the James A. Carlos Family Chair for Pediatric Technology. Ozone is widely used for disinfecting wastewater, purifying drinking water, sanitizing food items, and disinfecting certain types of equipment – even clothing. Ozone disinfection cabinets are commercially available, taking advantage of the oxidizing effects of the gas to kill bacteria and inactivate viruses. “There was no reason to think it wouldn’t work, but we could find no examples of testing done on a variety of personal protective equipment,” Finn said. “We wanted to contribute to meeting the needs of hospitals and other healthcare organizations to show that this technique could work against pathogens similar to the coronavirus.” Phil Santangelo, a virologist in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, recommended two respiratory viruses – influenza A and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – as surrogates for coronavirus. The two are known as “enveloped” viruses because, like coronavirus, they are surrounded by a lipid outer membrane. Influenza and RSV are less dangerous than the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, allowing the Georgia Tech researchers to study them without high-containment laboratory facilities. Santangelo, Finn, and their team devised a test procedure in which solutions containing the two viruses were placed onto samples of the PPE materials under study. The solutions were allowed to dry before the samples were placed in a chamber into which ozone was introduced at varying concentrations as low as 20 parts-per-million. After treatment for different lengths of time, the researchers tested the PPE samples to determine whether or not any of the viruses on the treated surfaces could infect cells grown in the laboratory. The entire test procedure required about a day and a half. “The protocol we set up reports very sensitively on whether or not the virus could reproduce, and we found that the ozone was very successful in rendering them harmless,” Finn said. “Oxidizing biological samples to a significant extent is enough to inactivate a virus. Either the genetic material or the outer shell of the virus would be damaged enough that it could no longer infect a host cell.” Loren Williams, a professor in School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, introduced the research team to a manufacturer of ozone disinfection chambers, which allowed evaluation of the equipment using the test protocol. During the test, the researchers learned that having sufficient relative humidity in the chamber – at least 50% — was essential for rapidly inactivating the viruses in a consistent manner. After subjecting face masks and respirators to ozone disinfection, the team worked with Associate Professor Ng Lee (Sally) Ng from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to evaluate the filtration capabilities of the items. The ozone treatment didn’t appear to negatively affect the N-95 filtration material. While they ozone didn’t harm the filtration ability of the masks, it did damage the elastic materials used to hold the masks on. While the elastic headbands could be removed from the masks during ozone disinfection, removing and replacing them on a large scale may make the ozone treatment technique impractical. Otherwise, however, ozone may offer be an alternative technique for disinfecting other types of PPE. “Ozone would be a viable method for hospitals and other organizations to disinfect garments, goggles, and gloves,” Finn added. “It is inexpensive to produce, and we hope that by sharing information about what we’ve found, healthcare facilities will be able to consider it as an option, particularly in low-resource areas of the world.” To read the original article click here.

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New Design Will Allow Manufacturers to Mass-Produce PPE for Healthcare Workers

AHA Publisher — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 07:00:52 +0000

University of Massachusetts Amherst via News-Medical Net – In just under two weeks, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with engineers, nurses and other health care professionals, have developed a design informed by clinical feedback for protective plastic face shields as the nation combats the spread of the coronavirus. It will be made available to manufacturers to mass-produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers and others. A Southbridge, Mass., company, K+K Thermoforming, is now producing the first order of 80,000 shields placed by the Face Shield COVID-19 Response Team at UMass Amherst. Shields will be distributed to medical facilities and other front-line responders in the region before an expected virus peak in mid-April, says Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) director Peter Reinhart, who helped to organize a number of UMass Amherst COVID-19 Response Teams. The company says it will continue production based on demand, he adds. UMass Amherst has contributed more than $30,000 for the initial order, as well as the hundreds of volunteer hours spent designing, testing, revising and manufacturing the shields, Reinhart said, noting, “The campus response to requests for help to address COVID-19-related shortages has been extraordinary.” More than a dozen COVID-19 response teams on campus are working to help healthcare workers and others with needs, from face shields to ventilator parts to viral transport medium for virus tests. Members of the face shield and IALS teams are approved to be in a lab for the COVID-19 response, but most work is done remotely, they say, and many team members have never met. Face shield team leaders Frank Sup and Meghan Huber of mechanical and industrial engineering at UMass Amherst say a variety of engineering, nursing and other researchers teamed up to meet the need. “Given the number of requests we receive on a daily basis, we know the need is dire. They’re in crisis mode, that’s why we’re working so quickly.” (Meghan Huber of mechanical and industrial engineering at UMass Amherst) Sup recalls, “We knew existing supply chains were not keeping up with demand and needed to turn to alternative manufacturing options for this emergency. We also knew that package manufacturing companies had the materials on hand that might be underutilized. We found these manufacturers could scale up the production of face shields in a matter of days to meet the vast and urgent need. All they needed was the design.” How Face Shields Mitigate Risk of Contamination A face shield protects the eyes and can be worn over an N95 mask to mitigate the risk of contamination, says Huber. It is made from a single, flexible sheet of 0.010-inch plastic film designed and tested in IALS’s Advanced Digital Design and Fabrication (ADDFab) Lab, says core facility director David Follette. It folds to wrap around the forehead and fastens securely at the back with no added materials needed. This is important, Follette adds, because 3D printing a strap, for example, is slow and inefficient. “You could use all the 3D printers in the world but it’s never going to be as fast as laser-cut or die-cut plastic sheets. We decided early that our product would have to be not only effective, but cheap and fast,” he says. To supply large quantities requires high-volume manufacturing, he adds. Their final design can be made in seconds. It’s flat for easy storage, Sup notes, and its light weight makes shipping more affordable. Important Input from Nurses Testing the shield’s clinical usefulness was assisted by nurses and technicians from the College of Nursing. Associate Professor and AAAS Invention Ambassador Rachel Walker and Ph.D. student Ellen Smithline say they are impressed that the IALS designers sought user perspectives. Walker, with emergency nursing experience from other large-scale humanitarian disasters, says, “Nurses are so close to what the challenges are, you avoid a lot of pain by working with them early. Your product may be beautiful, but it may not function for the people and providers who actually have to use it.” Smithline agrees. “Nationally, it’s unusual to include nurses at the beginning. The UMass project shows what you can accomplish if you have a good collaboration.” She and Walker asked area colleagues to use and provide feedback on a series of prototypes. Based on this, Smithline, with 26 years of ER experience including with SARS and Ebola, and her ER physician husband, Dr. Howard Smithline, suggested modifications – a longer strap to adjust to head size, pony tails, glasses and safety goggles. Smithline knew fogging can be a problem, so the team investigated pre-coating with anti-fog material. Not only should PPE be comfortable, Smithline suggested, she wanted a place for the care provider’s name “because eventually everyone looks the same if you’re wearing an N95, head covering, safety goggles and gown. You may not know who you are talking to. It’s also important to have good vision to provide safe care without fear of exposure.” Walker says it was important to get input from home care agencies, hospices and others. She says, “Delivering health care in a disaster is a very haunting and horrible thing. I have deep empathy for my colleagues who are going through this right now.” To find local manufacturers, IALS’ Reinhart turned to Jim Flynn, the new assistant dean of research business development at the College of Information and Computer Sciences. He says, “When I call a company and say I’m with a UMass Amherst COVID-19 Response Team and we need help making equipment for healthcare workers, they patch me through to the president. Being from UMass Amherst gives us instant credibility.” Among many others, Huber, Sup and Follette salute technical staff Colby Norwood in the mechanical engineering department’s machine shop and Asmit Jain in the IALS ADDFab Lab for their tireless contributions. Reinhart adds, “The COVID-19 crisis has forced us to rapidly explore new ways of collaborating against a backdrop of social distancing. The effectiveness of the ‘virtual team’ model has been spectacular.” To read the original article click here.

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Wearing Surgical Masks in Public Could Help Slow COVID-19 Pandemic’s Advance

AHA Publisher — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 07:00:02 +0000

University of Maryland, College Park via Newswise – Surgical masks may help prevent infected people from making others sick with seasonal viruses, including coronaviruses, according to new research that could help settle a fierce debate spanning clinical and cultural norms. Newswise — In laboratory experiments, the masks significantly reduced the amounts of various airborne viruses coming from infected patients, measured using the breath-capturing “Gesundheit II machine” developed by Dr. Don Milton, a professor of applied environmental health in the University of Maryland School of Public Health and a senior author of the study published April 3 in the journal Nature Medicine. Milton has already conferred with federal and White House health officials on the findings, which closely follow statements this week from the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying the agency was reconsidering oft-stated advice that surgical masks aren’t a useful precaution outside of medical settings. (The debate takes place at a time when clinicians themselves face dangerously inadequate supplies of masks–a shortfall other UMD researchers are scrambling to help solve.) The question of masks has roiled society as well, with some retailers refusing to let employees wear them for fear of sending negative signals to customers, and cases of slurs and even physical attacks in the United States and elsewhere against Asians or Asian Americans who were wearing masks, a measure some consider a necessity during a disease outbreak. The study, conducted prior to the current pandemic with a student of Milton’s colleagues on the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, does not address the question of whether surgical masks protect wearers from infection. It does suggest that masks may limit how much the infected–who in the case of the novel coronavirus often don’t have symptoms–spread diseases including influenza, rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Milton, who runs the Public Health Aerobiology, Virology, and Exhaled Biomarker Laboratory in the School of Public Health, demonstrated in a 2013 study that surgical masks could help limit flu transmission. However, he cautions that the effect may not be as great outside of controlled settings. Nevertheless, he said, the chance they could help justifies taking a new look at whether all people should be encouraged to wear them when they venture out of their houses to stores or other populated locations during the current COVID-19 lockdown. “In normal times we’d say that if it wasn’t shown statistically significant or the effective in real-world studies, we don’t recommend it,” he said. “But in the middle of a pandemic, we’re desperate. The thinking is that even if it cuts down transmission a little bit, it’s worth trying.” Previous studies have shown that coronavirus and other respiratory infections are mostly spread during close contact, which has been interpreted by some infectious disease specialists to mean that the disease could spread only through contact and large droplets, such as from a cough or sneeze–a message that has often been shared with the public. “What they don’t understand is that is merely a hypothesis,” Milton said. The current study (along with earlier ones) shows, by contrast, that tiny, aerosolized droplets can indeed diffuse through the air. That means it may be possible to contract COVID-19 not only by being coughed on, but by simply inhaling the breath of someone nearby who has it, whether they have symptoms or not. Surgical masks, however, catch a lot of the aerosolized virus as it’s exhaled, he said. The study was conducted at the University of Hong Kong as part of the dissertation research of the lead author, Dr. Nancy Leung, who, under the supervision of the co-senior authors Drs. Cowling and Milton, recruited 246 people with suspected respiratory viral infections. Milton’s Gesundheit machine compared how much virus they exhaled with and without a surgical mask. “In 111 people infected by either coronavirus, influenza virus or rhinovirus, masks reduced detectable virus in respiratory droplets and aerosols for seasonal coronaviruses, and in respiratory droplets for influenza virus,” Leung said. “In contrast, masks did not reduce the emission of rhinoviruses.” Although the experiment took place before the current pandemic, COVID-19 and seasonal coronaviruses are closely related and may be of similar particle size. The report’s other senior author, Professor Benjamin Cowling, division head of epidemiology and biostatistics, School of Public Health, HKUMed, and co-director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, said, “The ability of surgical masks to reduce seasonal coronavirus in respiratory droplets and aerosols implies that such masks can contribute to slowing the spread of (COVID-19) when worn by infected people.” Milton pointed to other measures his research has found is even more effective than masks, such as improving ventilation in public places like grocery stores, or installing UV-C lights near the ceiling that works in conjunction with ceiling fans to pull air upwards and destroy viruses and bacteria. “Personal protective equipment like N95 masks are not our first line of defense,” Milton said. “They are our last desperate thing that we do.” To read the original article click here.

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Iowa State Students 3D-Printing Face Shields for Iowa Hospitals

AHA Publisher — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 07:00:16 +0000

Iowa State University via Newswise – Hospitals are in desperate need of personal protective equipment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An Iowa State University team, in partnership with Alliant Energy, has found a way to help by manufacturing and distributing face shields to Iowa hospitals. Newswise — AMES, Iowa — Shelby Doyle, assistant professor of architecture, is co-founder of the Computation and Construction Lab. As COVID-19 spread, she and others in the digital fabrication community started talking about how they could help responsibly. Because the CCL is not a medical grade fabrication facility, it cannot make N95 face masks. So, Doyle and her team of eight students started looking for other options. A recent guest lecturer sent Doyle information from a team at Princeton University, which led to the CCL’s decision to work with face shield designs by Prusa3D in the Czech Republic and adapted by the Storrs FabLab at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. While the remainder of Iowa State’s spring semester is online, some student-employees are still allowed to work on campus so long as they follow ISU guidelines and precautions. Doyle gave her student employees the option of working in rotating shifts. They all signed up. “The CCL student employees are making the best of a really challenging moment where a lot of us feel really helpless as we watch this pandemic unfurl,” Doyle said. “Fabricating face shields is a small way for us to engage that’s within our capabilities: the CCL’s typical research is in 3D modeling, 3D printing and digital fabrication. “Our work can sometimes seem esoteric, but the need for PPE has brought the best out of the fabrication and design community.” Fabricate ‘As Many as We Can’ Before the College of Design building closed, Doyle’s students moved the architecture department’s 3D printers to the CCL. They now have 30 3D printers creating parts for face shields. ISU Central Receiving ensures the CCL gets the materials it needs. The team hopes to manufacture up to 2,000 face shields – but Doyle and her students say they will work until they can’t. “We’re trying to make as many as we can,” said Bryan Dellett, third-year architecture student from Geneseo, Illinois. Alliant Energy is funding the 3D printing and donating supplies to the ISU team. The company will also distribute the face shields as they are finished to hospitals across Iowa. “Alliant Energy is committed to helping the communities we serve,” said Diane Cooke, vice president of human resources at Alliant Energy. “In times of need, Iowans come together to help their neighbors and their communities. Through this unique and collaborative partnership with Iowa State University, we are coming together to help save lives during this health crisis.” The students are 3D-printing the top and bottom segments of the face shield, adding a clear plastic cover and an elastic band to secure around a person’s head. Doyle is coordinating the work, buying materials and providing files. The team continually adapts and adjusts its version of the design. So far, it’s taking about 2 ½ to 3 hours to print the parts for one face shield. The students work rotating shifts to ensure safety, and they have created a “socially distanced” assembly line to put the parts together. During fabrication, each student wears gloves and continuously disinfects the work area and materials. Finished face shields are disinfected again before being placed in sealed containers. “We didn’t want to give out something that didn’t perform with high quality,” said Anna Lukens, fifth-year architecture student from Batavia, Illinois. “Face shields can extend the life of N95 face masks and help out with other hospital situations like blood draws.” Doyle says this project wouldn’t have been possible without Iowa State’s collaborative and innovative culture. “All the seemingly ‘weird’ things we do in studio courses and at the CCL are really about developing design knowledge and workflows that are flexible and can be adapted to contribute in unforeseen ways,” Doyle said. “As architects, our students are capable of imagining and engaging through design in an unprecedented and uncertain time.” To read the original article click here.

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