Binghamton University Faculty Produce COVID-19 Medical Equipment
When a local hospital asked Binghamton University's Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science for help in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, faculty was quick to develop four projects.
Professor and Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering Kaiming Ye says their first focus was the mask shortage.
“We are working on biomedical research all the time. This is the time for us to come up with a quick solution to help the local communities," said Ye.
Faculty created two reusable mask prototypes with removable filters to protect from the COVID-19 virus. They are planning to test the masks at local hospitals in order to adjust the filter breathability, sealing, and other features.
"So we can use this (the masks) as many times as we can," said Fuda Ning, Systems Science and Industrial Engineering Assistant Professor.
The molds for the masks take about four hours to 3-D print, which is not nearly as long as the ventilator adapters that take 15 hours.
The four-way and even six-way adapters have already gone through tests at Lourdes and UHS, working on being finalized.
"Of course, we don't want to use it except for emergency uses," said Jia Deng, Systems Science and Industrial Engineering Assistant Professor.
Other groups are working on a system to clean already existing N-95 masks with UV light and creating face shields that will soon be used by local hospitals, which are currently being evaluated.
"The one thing that's amazing -- everyone responded to the call instantly," said Ye.
All of these projects came together within a matter of days and will soon be put to use once evaluated and finalized.