Thread by @elizjohansen

We have #PPE shortages even in the wealthiest country in the world. On the bright side, the incredible, global maker community has created an explosion of different #faceshield designs for #covid19. Why choose the @dtm_tweets DtM-v3 #faceshield?

It is the first #faceshield to be recommended by the U.S National Institutes of Health @NIH #3dprint exchange.
3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-…

Spark Health Design partnered with @dtm_tweets to apply our experience designing medical devices for low-resource settings to a reusable #faceshield for #covid19. It is the work of over 80 volunteers including experts from @Boeing, @Microsoft, @Harborviewmc, @uwdfab, and more.

We believe that, in designing for #covid19, we can learn from the everyday work of #HealthcareHeroes in communities affected by poverty. Due to a lack of #Healthequity, they deal with resource constraints every day.

"Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct." - a lesson from fighting #ebola in #Liberia:

medium.com/@sanjukta_d/gr…

Though I never worked on medical devices for the #ebola crisis, the images of #PPE reuse always haunted me.

#COVID19 is more contagious than ebola. No one in the world should need to reuse PPE when fighting either of these infectious diseases.

Image courtesy Greg Fallis

Unfortunately, #COVID19 is turning all settings into low-resource settings. On March 16, "Doctors Without Borders, said the shortages of much-needed medical supplies have become common in Italy". foxnews.com/world/italy-co…

To design the reusable DtM-v3 #faceshield, we first gathered feedback from #healthcareheroes in Boston and Seattle to understand how #faceshields are used. This process of considering the needs of many stakeholders is called human-centered design, or #HCD.

In addition, Spark Health Design conducted background research about the requirements for a functional #faceshield, including FDA and CDC guidelines for how healthcare professionals should approach reusing #PPE that is normally a single-use disposable.

docs.google.com/document/d/15k…

In designing #globalhealth #medtech, we learned supply chains are often broken in low-resource settings. The DtM-v3 #faceshield enables #3dprinters to respond to local needs during #covid19 using a variety of resins and office supplies; no laser cutter required.

#Healthcareheroes take the most risk, but have the least control over their #PPE supply. By enabling use with office supplies, the DtM-v3 #faceshield puts the power of replacing the transparent shield into the hands of those who are most affected; our #EssentialWorkers.

The DtM-v3 #faceshield has no moving parts because they are the first to break. I learned to eliminate moving parts when working @dtm_tweets to design Firefly phototherapy. Increased durability enabled treating over 200k newborns with jaundice in more than 20 low-income countries

Through research, we learned infectious aerosols and splatter could enter from the top of a #faceshield.

nature.com/articles/s4159…

The DtM-v3 #faceshield is a fork from the @Prusa R2 that limits infectious aerosols or liquids from the top while still maintaining top ventilation to reduce fogging, and a flexible band for comfort.

In designing for low-resource settings, we design for swamped hospitals with low staff-to-patient ratios. Echoes of the same came in a U.S. #covid19 working group video call where #HCPs expressed concerns about origami #faceshield designs requiring multiple minutes to assemble.

10% of an #HCP shift could be lost to #faceshield assembly if it takes 2 minutes to disassemble and reassemble a complex #faceshield to clean after every patient. The DtM-v3 Transparent Shield rapidly assembles by snapping onto pegs on the Headband Frame. #covid19 #3dprint

Finally, to help #3dprinters comply with the April 9 @FDA Emergency Use Authorization for #faceshields, @dtm_tweets and Spark Health Design launched a new, open source, instructions for use to help with safe, effective use of the DtM-v3.

docs.google.com/presentation/d…

The DtM-v3 IFU enables fabricators to comply with 90% of the FDA EUA for #faceshields for medical use. To make it 100%, track how many face shields you distribute to healthcare facilities, report any adverse events to FDA, and read the EUA here: fda.gov/media/136842/d…