Science

McLaren F1 engineers develop a prototype respirator for NHS staff


Engineers at Formula 1 motor racing team McLaren have developed a respirator prototype to protect frontline NHS staff from COVID-19.

It’s hoped that the personal respirator, which consists of a fabric hood connected to an air filter, could soon be used in UK hospitals.

The device, developed in partnership with University of Southampton medical staff, is connected to a small portable unit that supplies clean air.

It uses readily available components and has an open-source design, meaning it could potentially be modified by medical teams globally.

If tests are successful, the device could help meet a high demand for personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

A prototype of a personal respirator they have developed for frontline healthcare staff tackling the Covid-19 pandemic

A prototype of a personal respirator they have developed for frontline healthcare staff tackling the Covid-19 pandemic

Successful deployment of the device on a large scale would help ensure the safety of NHS staff, who are put at great risk of being infected while doing their job. 

‘We must minimise the risk of infection for medical staff and stop them getting sick at the peak of the pandemic, so they can care for others,’ said Paul Elkington, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Southampton.

‘The engineering team have rapidly developed something simple yet effective.’

The mask consists of a fabric hood that covers the head with an integrated platsic visor to protect the fact

The mask consists of a fabric hood that covers the head with an integrated platsic visor to protect the fact

It connects to a small portable unit that straps around the wearer's waist that supplies clean, filtered air

It connects to a small portable unit that straps around the wearer’s waist that supplies clean, filtered air

Elkington said the filter removes 99.95 per cent of particulate matter in the air, while the hood protects the wearer from ‘splashes’.

Making the design specification accessible online means the device could be manufactured in any country without facing export delays or restrictions, the University of Southampton said.

Meanwhile, engineers at the University of Sheffield are using 3D printers to produce face shields for frontline medics. 

The engineers formed in response after organisers from the 3DCrowd UK initiative made a national call to action last week.

The project is looking to quickly manufacture face shields in bulk to provide for healthcare workers in Sheffield and throughout Yorkshire.

Production will take place in the university’s iForge centre, which is the UK’s first facility run by engineering students.  

‘Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers across the country are in need of personal protective equipment and many staff are anxious about not having the right equipment and potentially exposing themselves to infection,’ said project leader Dr Pete Mylon, a University of Sheffield engineer.

The University of Sheffield is also leading a project to rapidly manufacture face shields for doctors and healthcare workers. Its 3D-printed face shields are to be distributed to frontline healthcare workers who may be exposed to COVID-19

The University of Sheffield is also leading a project to rapidly manufacture face shields for doctors and healthcare workers. Its 3D-printed face shields are to be distributed to frontline healthcare workers who may be exposed to COVID-19

‘Our multidisciplinary team is able to cover the complete manufacturing process for our face shields.’  

Also in 3D printing, a Kent-based dad of two has set up a mini factory in his living room, consisting of four 3D printers that make visors for medical staff 14 hours a day.

Phil Hathaway, 58, has supplied his homemade visors to medics in the baby and intensive care unit at QEQM Hospital in Margate, Kent.

The visor’s headband is printed from a digital blueprint, and the visor itself is a sheet of acetate hole-punched and clipped to the headband.

Hathaway said he has made around 70 masks, but now aims to make 60 every day after buying three new printers, which he got from Amazon for around £250 each.   

The UK government has previously called on leading manufacturers in various industries, including hairdryer makers Dyson and automobile company Rolls Royce, to help develop enough ventilators for COVID-19 patients.   

Ventilator support breathing by getting oxygen into the lungs and removing carbon dioxide from the body.  

Experts believe the NHS will need at least 30,000 of the devices when the outbreak is at its height.  

More than 33,700 people in the UK have been confirmed to have been infected by COVID-19, with 2,921 deaths in the country as of Thursday. 

Rolls Royce, Dyson and Mercedes all chip in to produce more ventilators for the NHS   

Ventilator Challenge UK consortium 

This JCB ventilator housing device will cover the new ventilators produced by the Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium

This JCB ventilator housing device will cover the new ventilators produced by the Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium 

A group of 23 UK manufacturers have come teamed up to produce 10,000 new ventilators for the Government so the NHS can treat more coronavirus patients.  

The firms include: Airbus, BAE Systems, Ford, GKN Aerospace, High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Inspiration Healthcare Group, Meggitt, Penlon, Renishaw, Rolls-Royce, Siemens Healthineers and Siemens UK, Smiths Group, Thales, Ultra Electronics, Unilever.

The group also encompasses the UK-based Formula One teams Haas F1, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Racing Point, Renault Sport Racing and Williams. 

Known as the Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium they will be upscaling production of existing invasive ventilators that help patients to breathe.   

The Government’s order of 10,000 devices is made up of Project Oyster, which has involved making slight tweaks to an existing design by Oxfordshire-based firm Penlon, aimed at speeding up the assembly process.

The consortium is also lending its manufacturing muscle to upscaling production of a device called the ParaPac ventilator by Luton-based Smiths Medical, under what is being called Project Penguin.

Dyson 

Dyson has released pictures of their CoVent ventilator, which will ease NHS shortages

Dyson has released pictures of their CoVent ventilator, which will ease NHS shortages

The Government has also placed an order for 10,000 ventilators with UK-based vacuum firm Dyson. 

Despite the manufacturing giant never making them before, billionaire entrepreneur James Dyson says it already has a prototype that could be delivered for use in the NHS by mid-April. 

Dyson’s Co-Vent prototype is a battery-operated device that will help extremely sick patients to breathe. 

The ventilator, created with The Technology Partnership (TTP), will be assembled at Dyson’s Wiltshire facility. 

University College London/Mercedes  

The Mercedes Formula One time and researchers at University College London have produced this CPAP ventilator device in just four days

The Mercedes Formula One time and researchers at University College London have produced this CPAP ventilator device in just four days 

The Mercedes Formula One time and researchers at University College London have teamed up to produce a new ventilator in just four days.

Their ‘continous positive airway pressure’ CPAP device pushes a mixture of air and oxygen into the mouth and nose at a continious pace to help patients breathe. 

It has already been signed off as safe for medical use by the MHRA safety watchdog and should complete its clinical trial to prove it helps patients at University College London Hospital by the end of this week.

The technique has been widely used in Italy, where ventilators are in short supply.

  



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