After volunteering at many hospitals and hearing the outcry for a lack of proper personal protective equipment, otherwise commonly known as PPE, the team wanted to help ensure that healthcare workers will return to their families each day without having to worry about the increased risk of infection and other complications due to an inadequate supply of PPE.

After contacting school administrators about their desire to assist the greater community of physicians and nurses, they began prototyping numerous designs with different materials for face shields, headbands, and PLA filament for the 3D printer. The team finally settled on a design using clear transparency sheets, a headband, and an ear saver. The ear saver helps relieve the tension of the band behind the ears of a regular surgical mask. This will allow nurses to wear the mask wrapped behind their head increasing the time they may use the masks with minimal discomfort. The plastic face shields are removable and disposable. The 3D printed parts may be reused with a sterilization of ultraviolet rays or vaporized hydrogen peroxide, a solution many hospitals are currently using to extend the life of their limited supply of PPE. This is truly a team effort. Shashwat Ghevde, Duncan McBrien, and Davis Blanch print the component pieces of the masks, and Pratheek Kuimanda and Rishi Gujjar assemble the finished products. Steven Zhang has been updating the group’s progress on their website, ppehealthcare.weebly.com, their Facebook page, and reaching out to many families who have been willing to help in any way possible.