Corona warriors: How 3D printing helps the police and medical staff

The police personnel and healthcare community have been at the frontline in the war against the coronavirus menace. They have been treating and protecting the positive cases. Since they are always in a high risk environment, out on the roads and in hospitals, they are equally at the highest risk of getting infected. 3D printing technology has played a role of a corona warrior in protecting them.

The police personnel and the healthcare staff wear face shields in order to isolate and firewall their face against any kind of spattering. The prototypes of such shields are first created, tested and then it is put under mass production. “With 3D printing, a headgear is designed. We design as to how it would be worn by the doctor, police. The size, shape is finalised. Also, it’s made sure no fogging takes place. Thereafter the head shield is 3D printed and approved from the doctor,” says Firoza Kothari, Founder, Anatomiz3D. The iterations continue until the doctors are completely satisfied with the ergonomics of the head gear.

Anatomiz3D has sold the head shields to hospitals across India. The Mumbai police is also wearing the shields manufactured by the company at their manufacturing unit in Andheri, Mumbai, “The shields have been supplied to medical staff at Army Hospital and Jehangir Hospital, Pune; Bombay Hospital, Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai. We have sold 48350 face shields and are doing 12000 pieces a day. The plastic helmet or shield is basically manufactured with raw materials having components of acrylic, PVC and a foam,” informs Kothari.

The doctors and police have to wear these shields for hours, hence, the user friendliness has to be ensured. 3D printing exactly facilitates that. The head shields are elastic enough to fit the size of the wearer. 

But in a lockdown situation, going to the doctors from the location of 3D printing to the hospitals and then accommodating the changes. How did it all work out ?, Kothari says, “We have a team of 4-5 doctors who have been consulting us since the company’s formation. We were able to complete the design in under 48 hours after getting it cleared from the doctors,”