> EXPLAINER: BUILDING A BETTER EBOLA SUIT
For those taking care of Ebola patients in West Africa, one of the biggest logistical problems has been the “moon suits” they wear to protect against being infected by the deadly virus. The suits are hot, and taking them off is a meticulous, multistep process that can leave no room for error.
Now, a protective suit designed by a team from Johns Hopkins has been chosen as one of the winners in a global competition for solutions to increase the protection and comfort of front-line workers battling Ebola.
The suit is easier to take off, and has a small battery-powered source to cool the user by blowing air into the hood, said Youseph Yazdi, executive director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design. Hopkins worked with Jhpiego, an international health non-profit group and university affiliate, and Clinvue, a healthcare innovation and design consulting company in Baltimore.
Low-cost solutions
The goal of the competition was to come up with solutions that could get into the field as quickly as possible, without costing a lot of money. So the team used the same lightweight material that major manufacturers are currently using.
But they redesigned it so the hood and the rest of the suit are attached. They also repositioned a zipper from the front to the back of the suit and reconfigured the zipper with pull tabs that allow the wearer to unzip easily, so the suit essentially peels away.
As a result, “when you want to remove the garment, the zipper opens so the doffing process goes from 20 steps down to five or six and goes from minutes and minutes down to a few seconds,” Yazdi said. “You don’t need a buddy to help you. You don’t have to touch the hood or grab around your face. It’s quick and a lot safer.”
The prototype also uses a large clear visor in the hood, making it easier for front-line workers to see.
Keeping cool
Front-line workers need to be protected from the contagious body fluids of Ebola patients, both during treatment and while removing a soiled suit. The suit material prevents fluid from penetrating, but it also means the person’s body heat has nowhere to escape. Working in the region’s extreme heat and humidity, health-care personnel often describe taking off their boots and pouring out the accumulated sweat.
To keep workers cool, the prototype uses a belt-worn battery pack, about the size of a runner’s fanny pack. It blows dry, filtered air into the hood. It doesn’t have to be cool air, which would have cost more and been more complicated, Yazdi said. Just having dry air helps sweat evaporate, which helps cooling. The battery can be recharged with a cellphone charger.
Fast-tracking
Wendy Taylor, who is overseeing the Ebola global competition at USAID, the lead agency co-ordinating the U.S. government Ebola response, said some of the design innovations in the Hopkins prototype, such as location and reconfiguration of the zipper and adding pull tabs, shouldn’t be hard to do.
“Manufacturers are actively involved in the massive response as part of this particular outbreak,” she said. “We have real interest . . . We’re looking at how we can fast-track the easy stuff.”
The Hopkins protective suit was among three winning innovations that will share about $1.7 million, U.S. officials said. How the funds will be divided has yet to be worked out. The other two innovations are an antiseptic gel applied to the skin that provides up to six hours of protection against pathogens, by Aquarius GEP and Innovative BioDefense; and a longlasting spray that kills and repels microbes to prevent surface contamination, by SPR Advanced Technologies.