URI biomedical engineers create PPE for health workers
The University of Rhode Island’s biomedical engineering department helped produce much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping save lives across Rhode Island.
When students were sent home in the spring 2020 semester, Dr. Kunal Mankodiya, associate professor of electrical, computer and biomedical engineering, and a group of biomedical students at URI recognized the need for personal protective equipment for medical offices around the state. They swiftly took action.
“We collected 3D printers from around Rhode Island,” said Joseph Reyes, a senior biomedical engineering major. “At first we tried printing masks but it took too much time and did not come out as we liked.”
When the masks went south, Mankodiya and his team looked to other forms of personal protective equipment such as face shields which were distributed to hospitals and other medical facilities across the state. Mankodiya said the shield could be attached and taken apart so it could be replaced as needed.
The process of making these shields was not an easy one, and it took a lot of sacrifice from both professors and students alike.
“The printer makes nine shields at a time, one hour per mask,” Reyes said. “Students then had to take extra time out of the day to make sure the printing process was going well and we also had to separate the masks after they were printed. That took another hour.”
All in all, this nine hour process occurred thousands of times as 8,000 of these face shields were distributed throughout the state, allowing doctors and nurses everywhere to help those infected by COVID-19 without having to worry for their own health. For Mankodiya and Reyes, this huge effort to support the medical facilities in Rhode Island was more than worth it.
“We were the difference between a hospital functioning or not,” said Mankodiya. “That means we were the difference between people dying and not dying or suffering and not suffering.”
For Reyes, it was seeing the difference in real time that made it worth it.
“It was incredible getting to go to these places and meeting the actual people we were helping,” Reyes said. “They were so appreciative; It’s different when you are in the lab printing. It just feels like something to do. But when you actually get to see what difference your work is making, it makes you appreciate it a whole lot more.”
Mankodiya also met with several students from URI in a social distancing setup during the summer to create a different type of mask.
“This ‘smart mask’ was designed as a concept that could monitor symptoms developed by health care workers,” said Reyes. It can keep track of heart rate and temperature while you wear it so, in the case that you suspect you may be sick, you have something to refer to.
This concept won second place at the COVID-19 Special Student Design Competition at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Symposium on Circuits and Systems Conference.
Students and faculty are still at work on their projects and, according to Mankodiya, it won’t stop until the pandemic does.
“Even though classes have started, we cannot afford to slow down,” said Mankodiya. “If more people need our help, we will be there.”