Lucknow: India reported its first Covid19 case on 30 January in Kerala and the total number of cases remained at 3 till February end limited to Kerala only.
As the cases grew gradually in March across India infecting many doctors and nurses as well, it emerged that the country doesn’t have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and N95 masks to protect its “frontline corona warriors” of the pandemic.
It was the same time when some young engineers, sitting at home due to national lockdown, decided to do something quickly to protect healthcare professionals.
“Our doctor friends made some desperate calls to ask us to provide anything which could help them to cover the face as they were either not provided with the PPEs or have been given poor quality ones,” says Indranil Chandra, one of the young innovators involved in offering the simplest and quickest solution to the shortage of PPEs and masks that is “face-shields”.
Using “Makers Club” platform, a community of innovators/engineers associated with innovation centres established in major cities across India, they have designed a simple face shield-made up of a headband and a transparent plastic sheet attached to it-which offers protection to entire face.
The highly contagious novel coronavirus spreads through droplets released into air by coughing and sneezing of covid19 positive person. If these virus-laden droplets enter the nose, throat and eyes of anyone, the virus gets attached to mucous membranes and multiply making the other person sick.
This plastic veil, named as M19 shield, ensures that droplets don’t reach the wearer; health or police staff. Most importantly, it can be used multiple times unlike the PPEs which are used one-time.
“Makers Asylum in Mumbai and FraktalWorks in Bangaluru were among the first to start making the shields. Now, total 15 makers clubs across India have joined hands to scale up production. We have so far produced and distributed over two lakh “M19 shields” to hospitals and police stations in different parts of country, all free of cost,” Indranil Chandra, a young Mumbai-based engineer associated with M19 Collective, told FPJ.
“M as a tribute to the maker community and 19 for #COVID19. Currently more than 15 labs and Makerspaces across the country are part of M19 Collective and we aim to distribute 1 million shields across the country in the next 1 month without any cost,” says Chandra explaining the nomenclature and plan of the “makers community”.
In Mumbai, the M19 shields are being distributed to JJ group of hospitals, Nair, Cooper and some other public hospitals in Mumbai, says the group.
How do they procure raw material and manage logistics amid lockdown?
“All you need is the OHP or PET Sheets (Over Head Projector or polyethylene ate phthalates or transparent sheets with 175 microns thickness), head gear made of acrylic or foam board, an elastic band and foam sticker. These items are easily available with local manufacturers who are the regular suppliers of the makers clubs. The only issue was to get the required permissions to travel, procure raw material and operate the unit which we got easily,” says Vijay Raghav Varada, from the FraktalWorks Bangaluru. Varada has his own a 3-D printing company which has been converted to make shields.
Because of local procurement and production, the supply is easy and cost has come down. Making one shield costs Rs40 to Rs70 depending up on city. To offer them free of cost, the makers community has also launched a fundraiser (bit.ly/covid19warriors).
Pradip Gadkar, who looks after the “Fablab” in Nagpur, say, “We have provided shields to the Government Medical College Nagpur, Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Wardha hospital, Army Hospital, Railways and some rural hospitals and clinics using emergency services passes.”
Likewise, Dreamworks Makerspace, Mangaluru (Karnataka) is helping the Wenlock, Unity, Yenepoya, Shimoga hospitals and the Commissioner of Police and RPF offices in the city.
Indian Jugaad, say doctors
While some production hubs, like the Bangalore one, have managed to get certification for their products, some haven’t.
A doctor associated with Nair hospital, Mumbai says, “We know it is not a PPE or N95 but the shield is far better than raincoat and plastic sheets doctors have been using to protect themselves unsuccessfully. You can call it ‘Indian Jugaad’ in the pandemic time.”
A resident doctor working at GMC Nagpur, says, “We had been posted at corona ward without any protective gear. We don’t bother about certification and using the shields along with masks to protect ourselves. The ENT doctors who examine the covid19 patients closely are using the shield onetime, while other doctors wash and reuse it multiple times,”
