M’luru college startup designs, supplies face shields to hosps

Kevin Mendonsa | Apr 9, 2020, 04:00 IST

Mangaluru: Amid a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect against the spreading coronavirus, a city-based startup is manufacturing protective face shield for frontline medical staff.
DreamWorks — a student MakerSpace, incubated at Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management, has so far supplied 600 plus masks to several hospitals in Mangaluru.
Speaking to TOI, Gautham Nayak of DTlabz, the startup behind the design of the protective shield said: “Face shields are a key piece of equipment for front-line healthcare workers operating in close contact with Covid-19 patients. These shields can protect a them from exposure to droplets containing the virus expelled by patients when they cough or sneeze.”
The shields, a modified version of shield from Makers Asylum, are made of acrylic and OHP sheets. The transparent masks fully cover the face of the person wearing them.
The five-member team has supplied the affordable face shields to Wenlock Hospital and other health care centres in the district.
“There is demand for more face shields,” said Nayak.