University of Illinois working with Carle Health to develop COVID-19 face shields

Researchers and engineers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Carle Health launched an effort to produce face shields for health professionals responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It stems from a personal protective equipment (PPE) design initiative led by The Grainger College of Engineering and the Carle Illinois College of Medicine’s Health Maker Lab.

“The goal of the PPE initiative is to leverage the collective power of the Health Maker Lab to respond to the urgent need to help frontline healthcare workers,” said Martin Burke, associate dean for research at Carle Illinois College of Medicine. “Barrierless collaboration between experts in medical sciences, engineering, and design, in partnership with physicians, nurses, and community members, has enabled extraordinary innovation in a time of crisis.”

The team designed and fabricated face shield components over three weeks. They solicited feedback from healthcare workers in a clinical setting at Carle Foundation Hospital and received guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fabricate these devices.

“Healthcare workers in Champaign County will begin beta testing a small batch of prototypes this week. The university plans to produce at least 2,000 face shields to support short-term needs,” said Irfan Ahmad, executive director of the Health Maker Lab, assistant dean for Research at Carle Illinois College of Medicine, and executive director for Interdisciplinary Initiatives for the Grainger College of Engineering.

The team is also designing prototypes for other PPE products, including N95 respirators, disposable and reusable gowns, masks and caps, and mid- and small-scale sterilization technologies, according to Helen Nguyen, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

“With community spread of COVID-19, we are pursuing every option to keep our patients, staff, and the community safe. We must go beyond the traditional supply chain and develop and produce necessary equipment. We’re grateful to our colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who have quickly applied their expertise and capabilities to meet these needs,” Carle Chief Medical Officer Charles Dennis said.