Did you think the dentist could not get worse? Patients may soon be asked to wear a HELMET that sucks up any COVID-infected cough drops
- Healthcare workers are at higher risk of contracting a COVID infection
- The helmet keeps dentists safe while working on the patient’s mouths
- A pump attached to the top of the disposable helmet creates a reverse airflow
- If the patient coughs, any drops are sucked back and can not escape
To protect dentists from catching coronavirus, patients may soon be asked to wear open-face helmets that absorb any drops they contain COVID.
The disposable, transparent helmets were developed by experts at Cornell University in New York and are connected to a pump that creates a reverse airflow around the head.
This ensures that potentially contaminated droplets are trapped in the air stream entering through the mouth opening – and are unable to escape the helmet.
In addition to dentists, the concept can also be used by so-called otolaryngologists – ear, nose and throat doctors – who also need access to patients’ heads and necks.
Healthcare professionals have a higher risk of COVID-19 infection because they often come in contact with symptomatic or asymptomatic patients.
At present, protection comes through N95 masks and face shields, coupled with the use of empty clinics or so-called ‘negative pressure’ rooms with air filtration.
However, experts have warned that these measures are expensive and often not very effective or accessible – unlike the new safety helmet.
To protect dentists from catching coronavirus, patients may soon be asked to wear open-face helmets that suck any COVID-loaded droplets that they are coughing, as indicated
The helmet designed by the team is connected to the crown by a medical-grade air filtration pump that creates the reverse flow of air that prevents cough drops from coming out of the helmet.
Using a computer-based fluid dynamics simulation, the researchers determined that the helmet can contain 99.6 percent of the drops released when the wearer coughs within a tenth of a second.
“Placing it in context would take about 45 minutes to remove 99% of the air pollution from the room if we used the same air pump to create an isolation room under negative pressure,” said the author and engineer. Mahdi Esmaily said.
The design has a thickness of 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) transparent shell that completely encloses the head and neck – with the exception of the vacuum port and the opening that provides access to the mouth.
A nozzle attached to the mouth entrance port serves to extend the distance of the droplets against the flow, thus reducing their chance of the helmet passing through the opening.
At the same time, it enables a smoother flow transition that reduces the discomfort of patients generated by air turbulence, the researchers said.
The helmet can also significantly reduce operating costs by replacing current practices – such as building vacuum suppressors with air filtration, which can cost tens of thousands of pounds.
The cost of each helmet can be as cheap as a few dollars (about £ 1.50) if made from a disposable material, the researchers said.
Medical high-efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA) filter negative air machines designed to power the helmets are readily available and cost around £ 740 ($ 1,000).
Healthcare professionals run a higher COVID-19 infection because they often come in contact with symptomatic or asymptomatic patients. At present, protection comes through N95 masks and face shields, coupled with the use of empty clinics or so-called ‘negative pressure’ rooms with air filtration. However, experts have warned that these measures are expensive and often not very effective or accessible – unlike the new safety helmet
“Our next step is to refine the helmet design to have higher efficiency and wider application,” explained author and mechanical engineer Dongjie Jia, also from Cornell University.
“After that, we plan to build prototypes of the helmet and conduct experiments to verify our simulation predictions.”
The simulation framework used to evaluate the helmet concept can meanwhile be used to study other particle-related phenomena and designs, the team added.
The full findings of the study were published in the journal Physics of Fluids.