BALTIMORE: In West Africa for the workers health care on the front lines of the Ebola Plague, who danger their lives in stifling safely outfit, relief could soon be on the way.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a new-style outfit that is not only more comfortable, but also less likely to accidentally infect its users.
Conceived during a weekend hackathon in October, it has just won funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), lifting hopes it could be in production and out in the field in a matter of months.
“I don t want to say this is a profound revolution in PPE (personal protective equipment) suits,” professor Youseph Yazdi, director of the university s Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, told AFP.
“But you don t want rocket science. You want simple improvements that can actually save lives, have an impact on health and safety … but get to the field quick,” he said alongside a bright yellow prototype mounted on a mannequin in the center s open-plan design studio.
Ebola, one of the deadliest viruses known to man, spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person — and those who care for the sick are especiallly vulnerable.
Of the nearly 7,000 people who have so far died of Ebola, at least 365 were healthcare workers, the World Health Organization said this week.
Existing protective suits help, but they suffer from shortfalls that the Johns Hopkins team — a diverse group of about 80 that included doctors, engineers, technicians, even a Baltimore wedding gown designer — set out to identify and correct.
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
