The Global Center for Medical Innovation is pleased to announce the collaboration with Dr. Joanna Newton, MD along with Georgia Tech Researchers and Students, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Technology Center, in collaboration with Georgia Tech and Global Center of Medical Innovation. The collaboration became essential as Dr. Newton, MD heard from many colleagues around the country that healthcare front line employees’ access to personal protective equipment (PPE) was becoming depleted in the face of increasing demands due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

A team was assembled including Georgia Tech (GT) researchers who are working toward rapid response for mass manufacturable medical face shields. Dr. Chris Saldana (ME) and Dr. Bhamla (CHBE), along with their students, are exploring rigid frame face shields and origami-style face shields for open source design and manufacture of these critical products. The team is leveraging multiple rapid prototyping/manufacturing capabilities at GT including the Flowers Invention Studio and the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI).  These centers provide capabilities such as selective laser sintering, 3-D printing with FDM, laser cutting and waterjet cutting to rapidly prototype and fabricate the face shields. The goal is to produce hundreds of these shields per day to provide to hospitals as well as provide the open source design for others to fabricate anywhere in the world.

Personal Protective Equipment Collaboration with:

Dr. Joanna Newton, Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Technology Center, part of Georgia Institute of Technology

Global Center for Medical Innovation, an affiliate of Georgia Institute of Technology