Geelong Tech School safeguards health workers

The Geelong Tech School has prototyped medical equipment to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among health professionals.

Collaborating with industry professionals, the Geelong Tech School has adapted and prototyped face shields and intubation boxes for medical practitioners as they seek to strengthen protection measures that inhibit the spread of COVID-19 in our hospitals.
 
The prototyping and field testing of face shields remains ongoing with the design acting to prevent droplet transfer. The intubation box has been adapted from models used on the frontline overseas. It is presently in operation at Geelong’s St John of God hospital, with several more being custom built for the local hospital and its metropolitan counterparts.
 
Answering the call for a solution in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease, the Geelong Tech School’s Program Facilitator, Lachlan Patrick, has guided the collaboration, design and prototyping of the equipment. His invaluable experience gained from working in Vanuatu with Field Ready, a humanitarian engineering organisation who use rapid prototyping and on-the-ground design to aid communities in need, as well as in India with Global Village Project. 
 
Director, Leanne Collins, stated, “The Geelong Tech School has responded quickly to requests from the local medical profession, producing essential equipment as we collectively aim to combat the effects of COVID-19.
 
Our health professionals are working tirelessly in a high risk environment every day. We see our prototyping and development of products to protect their health as vitally important.”
 
Field Ready are also working in partnership with the Geelong Tech School to develop an immersive program for all Geelong secondary schools to develop skills in collaborative design and emerging technologies. Students will address humanitarian challenges and have the opportunity to help design prototypes for crisis.

       

Face shield and intubation box designed bu Geelong Tech School