Nottingham engineers produce certified 3D printed face shields for NHS
The Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM) at the University of Nottingham have worked with colleagues within the University's Bioengineering Research Group, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) and a host of external collaborators and contributors to develop a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) FaceShield to meet the critical need for COVID-19 related PPE from healthcare professionals.
Face shields are part of the government’s recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) for coronavirus, providing protection to the eyes and face against contamination from respiratory droplets.
Building on an open-source design of headband originally from HP, the team made modifications to ensure the face shield could pass a regulatory test by BSI, the UK’s national standards body, to ensure the highest level of protection is provided.
The face shields successfully passed the BSI tests and are CE approved for use as part of PPE for healthcare workers’ protection against COVID-19 in both hospital and community environments. They are provided in packs to the NHS, with five replacement visors per face shield as well as instructions for use.
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“We are extremely grateful to the University of Nottingham for developing and supplying the visors which will make a real difference to thousands of healthcare staff working on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak. Packs of the face shields have already been delivered to local GP practices, and we have plans in place to share them with a range of other keyworkers such as people who care for others at home. I think this is a really positive example of talented professionals working across normal boundaries in order to support our local communities in what is an unprecedented and very challenging time.”