by Maddie Jacks
After an informative discussion with a group of makers, medical professionals, scientists, and engineers in the Greater Boston Area, it has begun to feel like a powerful, united effort is being put forth by our community to find ways to supply hospitals with the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need. The Makery team was uplifted to hear about the progress that dozens of groups are making towards developing medically-approved products, and we continue to be proud and invigorated to contribute anything we can to this concerted effort.
As of now, we are collaborating with groups and makerspaces who have already made in-roads in terms of establishing channels for approval and distribution. We will continue to build off of promising products, such as the N95 replacement masks that are already in production at Lowell Makes, and a new face shield prototype from the University of Wisconsin.
Our focus in the coming week will be to keep our ear to the ground on the collective progress of the community while working to improve the comfort and ease-of-manufacturing of the following foam face shield and the N95 face mask, shown below.
As always, donations, including materials, are hugely appreciated. We have already had a fantastic response from the community, so thank you all!