Thousands of sanitation workers, police officials, health care workers who knock on every door in containment areas, corporation workers, nurses, doctors, lab technicians and more are working day and night to fight the spread of novel coronavirus across the world. The frontline workers are putting their lives at risk when they step out every day to do their duty in this time of a pandemic. While most use safety gear like face masks and hand gloves to protect themselves, there is always a demand for extra protective gear that can guarantee the safety of these warriors.
A small group of engineering students from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) along with a Chennai-based 3D printing company are now 3D printing face shields that can be used by those who interact with infected patients and in containment zones. The face shield comes with two principal components - an acrylic sheet and a headband to hold it in place. The sheet ensures the user is not put at risk of contracting the virus from infected patients by accidental contact with bodily fluids (blood, saliva, etc).
A quick fix
22-year-old final year engineering student from IIT-M Hari Ramachandran was talking to his father, who is the Head Of the Department at paediatric ICU at Child Trust Hospital, when he was struck with the need for such gear in a country like India and the absence of it.
“I was having a conversation with my father when I got to know that many health care workers like nurses, ward boys, ambulance drivers, etc. are not turning up for work because they do not have access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). And they have a right to do so. There is a demand for it right now,” he begins.
Hari immediately thought of 3D printing face shields that were already in use in countries like the United States of America. “I met with Professor Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IIT Madras with whom I have worked in the past on social projects and I knew he had access to 5 3D printers,” says Hari.
With it he planned on making and supplying face shields on a low scale to those he could reach out to with help from his father. “However, Professor Chakravarthy led me to Mr Ravi Santhanam, an alumnus of IIT-M. He believed that this could be done on a bigger scale. Mr Ravi put me in touch with Avishkar Hyperloop team and also with Mr Rosu Reddy of NexGen 3D,” Hari shares.
Ravi Santhanam is a leadership coach and a business advisor. Avishkar Hyperloop is a student team from the Centre For Innovation at IIT-M and four students from this team - two from Chennai, one from Bengaluru and another from Pune - came forward to be a part of this initiative.
Speaking to TNM, Padmaja, co-founder of NexGen 3D and Rosu Reddy’s daughter explains, “The Hazmats suits do not actually help doctors because it is very restrictive. They can’t use stethoscopes. Face shields, on the other hand, protect them in addition to making it possible for them to treat patients with some comfort.”
The process of 3D printing face shields - that comes with an acrylic sheet and a headband - began about 10 days ago. “At any time five to seven employees work on it day and night in shifts to make 1000 shields a day,” Padmaja adds. The team currently prints two pieces simultaneously every 40 minutes using a single 3D printer. Over 35 3D printers are being used for the purpose right now.
Orders pour in
With help from his father, Hari reached out to doctors organically. “JIPMER in Pondicherry just took 200 pieces from us. Egmore Children’s hospital has asked for 1000 pieces which we will deliver next week. Kilpauk Medical College Hospital will take 1000 pieces. HAL has asked for 50 pieces,” says Hari.
The private hospitals that have bought face shields from them include Vijaya Hospital and Apollo Hospital. “We prove these face shields free of cost to the government hospitals and for the private hospitals we give it to them at manufacturing cost,” says Padmaja. Manufacturing cost per piece is Rs 100. The team has initiated crowdfunding to supply to government hospitals. If you would like to contribute, you can click here.
Padmaja walked up to Kotturpuram police station with some shields as samples following which they are now providing to the police department too, free of cost. Hari also adds that they are supplying 200 pieces to government hospitals in the district of Krishnagiri and 5000 to hospitals across Kancheepuram.
TNM reached out to Dr Abhishek Menon, Casualty Medical Officer at Government Royapettah General Hospital for his opinion on the face shield. “I have used it for a day and I think it is a good protective gear. What we are concerned at this point is the virus transmitting through the aerosol route. This face shield makes sure that does not happen. And it is also cheap so it makes good sense to use it,” he says.
Why 3D printing?
3D printing -- a technique that is usually used to make prototypes -- can be the immediate solution to cater to this demand for PPE explains Hari. Bigger companies like Mahindra have said that they will start producing face shields to help first responders and doctors.
“And when they do, there will be no need for us. However, it would take at least 10 days for the product to come to the shelf. Meanwhile, 3D printing is our best answer,” says Padmaja.
“We know this demand will be short-lived once a big player such as Mahindra comes to the market. However, we want people to understand that it can be made right now. We are hoping that people across the country can adopt this method elsewhere. All they need is access to a 3D printer,” adds Hari.
“Our target is to provide 10,000 to 20,000 pieces within the next 10 days. Our mission is to augment the safety of health care workers and the police force to ensure that they can keep our local community safe and to serve as a model for others to implement locally,” Hari shares.
Padmaja hopes to be able to take it to first responders, especially corporation and sanitation workers who interact with 30 new people on an average daily. “If we can cross over red tape and acknowledge the need for this safety gear, it would help a lot the frontline workers like corporation workers, sanitation workers, etc. They interact with at least 30 people on an average daily. It is a huge risk for them and they need the protection,” she points out.