Project Overview
Due to shortages, we have assembled a team from the UW Hospital, UW Makerspace, Delve and Midwest Prototyping to design a medical face shield shown in the images above. The design is based on shields currently used in hospitals (here) using very economic materials and scalable, advanced manufacturing processes.
Organisation
Project Context
Lennon Rodgers, director of the Engineering Design Innovation Lab at University of Wisconsin-Madison, got an urgent email from the university’s hospital. Could his lab make 1,000 face shields to protect staff testing and treating Covid-19 patients? The hospital’s usual suppliers were out of stock, due to the spike in demand prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Project Innovation
Our aim is to post on our website:
[1] Open Source Design: We’ve posted the open-source design and parts list here and will update the design as we receive feedback and complete further testing. The blog post from Delve is here. See legal disclaimer at the bottom of this page. If you would like to make shields yourself, please see the “Manufacturing Resources” sections below.
[2] Supplier Resources: A list of suppliers for plastic, foam and elastic. If you are a supplier or looking for suppliers, please see the “Supplier Resources” section below.
[3] Buyer Resources: A list of manufacturers and their expected production rates for making face shields. If you are looking for manufacturers selling face shields, please see the “Buyer Resources” section below. Note: We encourage you to pursue multiple sources since the supply of PPE is still very limited.
[4] E-mail List: An email list with healthcare facilities looking for face shields so we can notify them if we become aware of any developments. If interested, please fill out the intake form below.
Social and Community-Oriented Design - Object
Social design applies a design methodology and intervention to tighten the social fabric that holds us together. Addressing issues of social inequality, such as poverty or social isolation, social design is the pathway to a more just and sustainable society. Community-oriented design is a human-centered and participatory design practice that emphasises the betterment of local communities through the improvement of public facilities, equipment, identity and experience.
The object category celebrates creative and innovative design for an object or product. Consideration is given according to the design context and need, design innovation and the application of human centred design principles.
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