Lici Beveridge|Hattiesburg American
In the days and weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began in Mississippi, finding new ways to take care of basic health needs has become imperative.
Personal protective equipment, respirators and other devices are in short supply but high demand. Necessity is proving the mother of invention.
"PPE is critical in a time like this, and due to the demands of supply needs, have been overwhelming in our country,"said Millie Swan, vice president of Marketing and Medical Staff Services at Forrest General Hospital.
In Hattiesburg, necessity has led to the construction of multiple devices aimed at helping in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hospital, along with staff from Hattiesburg Clinic, the University of Southern Mississippi and Howard Industries, held a news conference Thursday to demonstrate some of their innovations.
The staff demonstrated three devices created to meet the need for more PPEs and respiratory treatments.
Low-cost compact ventilators
A ventilator designed by Southern Miss and produced by Howard Industries can help alleviate shortages and can be used in various settings because of its size and ease of use.
"Because of the fear of ventilator shortages, we approached the Southern Miss robotics team to come up with a simple and new bag-based ventilator that might could be produced very quickly," said Dr. Joe Campbell,Forrest General's chief anesthesiologist.
The team came up with a prototype for aventilatorin a matter of days. Campbell asked Howard Industries to see what they could do on the production end.
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Mark Dyess, regional sales manager for Howard Industries, said the prototype was adapted a little for production and efficiency. The ventilators are low-cost and compact, so can be easily stored, he said.
The ventilator system is designed to keep oxygen in and prevent the virus from escaping into a room.
"This partnership with Southern Miss, Forrest Generaland Hattiesburg Clinic physicians, local industryand community volunteers makes our community unique, I think, and has prepared us more for this crisis than any other place in the country," Campbell said.
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Protective masks
Anna Wan, director of the Southern Miss3-D printing lab,began makingrespirator masks that she helped design using a dozen high-end 3-D printers.
The masks protect against inhalinginfectious particles and are more germ-resistant than cloth masks.
"This cuts down on the use of the regular N95 masks," Campbell said, "which is in worldwide shortage right now."
Community members and quilting clubs createdstraps for the masks from cotton fabric and T-shirts. The masks donot include a filter but havea “hub” that acts as the standardized connection port.
Those who would like to help with mask-making can find information ateaglemakerhub.org/covid-19-maker-resources/.
Wan worked with Forrest General who gave input and suggestions for designing the mask using the filters available to the hospital.
Each mask costs about $2 to make. The molds were created using 3-D printing, plasterand silicone, then plastic sheets are formed over the molds to create the masks.
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Wan said at firstthe masks took five hours to make but nowshecan make four in one minute using two machines.
"It is lightweight, washable and very comfortable for all our staff," saidBrittany Coberly, director of Respiratory Therapy at Forrest General.
Improved BiPAP devices
Campbell said many COVID-19 patients often have had to be moved from receiving oxygen through nasal tubes to being intubated.
He said there is an in-between treatment called bilevel positive airway pressure commonly used for people with sleep apnea,which is a non-invasive mask that goes over a patient's face, but that had not been a viable option for those with COVID-19 because the patient exhales the virus back into the room, endangering staff.
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Campbell said he had seen a helmet-styleBiPAP device being used in Europe, so he thought maybe a full-face snorkel mask might be adapted to simulate what was being used in Europe.
Wan and Coberly started working on a way to adapt the masks so they can be used with existing hospital equipment. The oxygen can go into the patient's nose and mouth from one tubeand exhaled through another tube with very little air escaping from the mask.
TheBiPAP devices are portable, allowing a patient to get up and move around, Coberly said.
Campbell said the innovative device is getting national attention and could eventually be used worldwide.
Contact Lici Beveridgeat 601-543-4798 orlbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her onTwitter@licibevor Facebook atfacebook.com/licibeveridge.
