A team of engineers at Georgia Tech has rapidly prototyped a face shield that could be used by healthcare providers on the front lines battling COVID-19.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pointed to a shortage of protective masks for healthcare providers nationwide, and these Tech researchers are looking to remedy that.

Saad Bhamla, assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and his team developed the shield using low-cost materials and origami principles to connect the pieces. Bhamla’s lab explores the development of new experimental tools and techniques, particularly for global health applications. The team’s goal is to design and develop items like the face shield that are technologically advanced but inexpensive to produce.

Bhamla is encouraged and inspired by the challenges his team is taking on, even with the uncertainties that lie ahead. “It’s a great time to be an engineer,” Bhamla said, “Since we can leverage rapid fabrication tools to make urgently needed things for front-line care providers.”

Today the prototype is being shared with researchers at Emory University for their feedback.

This isn’t the first low-cost device his team has developed. They have also made a 3D-printed portable centrifuge for less than a dollar that is capable of preparing DNA samples for testing, as well as a 20-cent ElectroPen, which has the potential to replace a $10,000 piece of lab equipment for cellular genetic modifications.