The Development of Modular and Re-Usable Face Shields for COVID- 19 Prevention in Clinics

Abstract

COVID-19 continues to cause a high fatality rate - especially in health workers. Safety protocols in nearly all aspects of our lives were announced to minimize the spread of the disease. A common personal protection equipment (PPE) that is used as a safety precaution is the face shield, a portable barrier to protect human to human transmission. Unfortunately, this simple, mass-produced device has not been made in a standardized way. This study aimed to create a standard modular and ergonomic face shield that can be dispatched, recleaning, sterilized, and partially renewed. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and Polylactide (PLA) filaments were selected as the materials to be used. PETs with 0.3 mm thickness were used for the visor. The headband was designed in AutoCAD 2019 then produced by a Flashforge 3D printer. Nurses’ anthropometric measurement was used as guidance in formulating the size of the head band. 60 head bands were produced in 2 months of 5 working days (80 minutes for each headband). This device was given to non-government clinics that have short PPE supplies and was evaluated according to their reliability and comfort. We concluded that this new PPE had minimum visual distortion, was easy to dismount, and easy to replace, except for the headband. Keywords: covid-19, face shield, prevention