Temple College of Engineering has organized a task force to support medical personnel on the front lines of the Temple Hospital COVID-19 response.

This multidisciplinary group includes faculty, students and administrative staff focusing on fabrication, procurement and other support measures. Working directly with Temple University Hospital, task force members began meeting virtually shortly after the university transitioned to a remote environment, and plan to move into production across the university on Friday.

Production will include 3-D printing ventilator parts and personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face shields. The first such delivery of approximately 1,200 face shields will be sent to Temple Hospital this weekend, with a goal of scaling production to more than 10,000 shields over the next few weeks.

The task force is examining other needs from Temple Health officials, including reusable respirators, 3-D printed cages for N95 masks to replace broken straps, as well as 3-D printing ventilator manifolds, allowing a single unit to support two patients. The task force is also investigating extending ventilators to be controlled and displayed outside of a patient's room to reduce PPE use by medical staff.

The task force is leveraging expertise across disciplines, with faculty and students from bioengineering and mechanical engineering joining faculty from the College of Science and Technology, staff and faculty from Tyler School of Art and Architecture and staff from Temple Libraries, along with administrative support and expertise from staff at Student Health Services, Office for the Vice President for Research, Information Technology Services and Campus Operations.

Coming soon: virtual build sessions and how-to guides so you can create materials, with or without a 3D printer. Sign up here to be notified when those guides are available and sessions are scheduled>