3D Printed Face Sheilds for NHS

On the 13th of March while following the  developments in Italy and seeing the difficulties medical professionals and the healthcare system were having in dealing with the fallout from COVID 19, I felt a deep concern for what would come to the UK.
The following day I messaged colleagues on a WhatsApp group, reaching out to the wider community of digital dentists and technicians to join forces in whatever way they can to help with supporting our frontline health workers.

Utilising our experience and knowledge as well as bringing some of the brightest minds from around the UK and internationally into looking at the problems the Italian medics were facing, such as shortage of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies.


Surely we could print reusable face masks, visors or other supplies that the healthcare system would struggle to supply in mass as the Italians were finding out?

Well fast forward 2 weeks and the response has been amazing... so many people have joined different causes and designed prototypes from masks, visors to valves and ventilator splitters.

My story however is a personal one, I have many medical colleagues and when speaking to one of my anaesthetic friends I was shocked to find out they had 30 visors left in Lewisham hospital where they were intubating 5 or 6 patients a day! With only 6 days supply of visors I had a sinking feeling in my stomach I had to do something....

This is where Ash from Byrnes dental lab showed his expert abilities in digital dentistry. I contacted him and sent him a sample of the visors asking if he could manufacture them? He quickly came back in a day and had Carbon design CE certified visors which he quickly 3D printed and sent out just in time to be used in Lewisham and East Surrey Hospitals. 


He has kindly agreed to manufacture these at cost price to cover the materials utilised. However each face shield is costing £15 materials and I want to help raise awareness and funds to supply these shields FREE OF CHARGE, any sponsorship will go towards the material costs of these laboratories printing the face shields.

I therefore would like to make a plea and crowd fund his laboratory to continue production of these as well as his good friend  Steven Campbell of Nexus dental laboratory in this joint campaign.

Frontline NHS staff are fighting the COVID pandemic with minimal protective equipment (PPE), and due to national shortages these essential pieces of equipment to keep our brave NHS health workers safe are running out in major hospitals in and around London. 

Please help us raise funding to provide essential protective equipment!

We are aiming to raise £1500 initally.

This will help us to secure materials and produce the much needed PPE using 3D printers to quickly manufacture and deliver these to the Hospitals in and around London.

The campaign will with your support help healthcare workers in the NHS hospitals fighting to save lives of COVID 19 patients.

Thank you for all your contributions and help spread the word!

Together we can beat this!

*UPDATE* 12/04/20 

To date Byrnes dental lab have produced 2135 face shields that have gone to NHS frontline staff for FREE  with your support and donations.  That is 2135 much needed pieces of PPE in the last 2+ weeks that have bee  delivered with your support! 

Thank you!