Christchurch engineer and med student daughter design Covid-19 face shield

Tuesday, 31 March 2020

Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Director-General of Health, and Sarah Stuart-Black, Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management, provide an update on Covid-19 on Tuesday, 31 March, 2020.

A Christchurch engineer and his medical student daughter have designed a prototype face shield for health workers to wear during the Covid-19 outbreak - and it can even made in the home.

Don Clucas, an associate professor at Canterbury University's College of Engineering, was contacted by a Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) surgeon about developing a 3D printed full-face mask to prevent a future shortage.

But although the printed version was effective it took about an hour to manufacture. So Clucas and his daughter Emma Clucas set about designing a plastic visor that could be laser-cut and assembled in around a minute.

Associate Professor Don Clucas and his med student daughter, Emma Clucas, have designed a prototype face shield.

They now hope the face shields can be mass produced and they have put the design specifications online so they can be accessed free and manufactured in poorer countries without the need for high-tech equipment.

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University of Canterbury's Don Clucas has been working in collaboration with University of Auckland.

The project came about after Christchurch Hospital vascular surgeon Peter Laws asked Don Clucas about 3D masks on Tuesday 24 March, 'just as thousands of (university) staff and students were scrambling to evacuate campus before the Government moved to alert Level Four'.

Within 90 minutes, Clucas and distinguished professor Geoff Chase, who works with CDHB on research, began working on a prototype.

But although it met the requirements, the printed version took too long for mass production so Clucas and the university's laser cutting technical officer Dave Read began working on an improved version.

Seven prototype shields with slightly different features were sent to Christchurch Hospital and worn by staff. Using the workers' feedback Clucas came up with a final design and has made 50 pre-production shields which are now being tested by healthcare workers.

Clucas said after collaborating with Auckland University the design has gone online and the website describes the production and how people can make them at home.

'We looked at the 3D version and decided, for mass manufacture, it wasn't a suitable option because you just can't make them fast enough' he said.

'Emma and I worked on it and came up with the design, which is essentially very similar to what the nurses and doctors have been using at the hospital for many years, and is a proven design that they like to use.'

He said Christchurch manufacturer Custom-Pak have donated materials for the team to test.

'Our biggest problem is getting materials. The rubber foam and the elastic band. We know they are available, we just can't contact the people who supply. That's understandable.'

'There are people in Christchurch who can stamp these things out very fast, the same as they make plastic packaging for food and toys and things.

'If we could start mass manufacturing, we can get that essential PPE (personal protective equipment) out to the wider community as well.'

Emma Clucas, a 5th year medical student at University of Auckland, said she was able to draw on her training to help with the designs.

'I've been working side-by-side with dad, we're very lucky we're in the same bubble at home so he's had an extra set of hands,' she said.

'Although I have limited experience being a student I'm still able to provide some knowledge and potential application (for the shields) in the hospital.'

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