AerosolShield
AerosolShield was designed by a group of clinicians and medical technology specialists led by Matthew Campbell-Hill, Senior Fellow in Novel Medical Technologies at the University of Birmingham, Dr Egidio da Silva, Consultant at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, GP Dr Lydia Campbell-Hill, Dr Mark Reeves, Director at MRA Technology Ltd and Dr Richard Williams, Research Fellow at Birmingham’s Healthcare Technologies Institute. In the early days of the CoVID-19 pandemic, the team came together to help solve the problem of the high risk of cross contamination between patients and frontline healthcare staff.
Developed in six days, with orders received on day seven, the AerosolShield helps save lives by enhancing levels of protection over PPE alone. It does this by forming a physical barrier between patients and carers, preventing infectious droplets from against aerosol-borne contagions such as CoVID- 19 reaching frontline staff whilst delivering vital treatments. The AerosolShield helps to protect medical staff from the risk of contracting CoVID-19 by containing the contamination threat immediately around the patient.
The AerosolShield is a disposable, mini pop-up tent covering the patient’s head, neck, and shoulder-level chest area with further coverage of the torso through an integrated drape. The deployed shield is optically clear and has self-closing access points. This allows medical staff to have easy line of sight and hand access in and around the patient’s airway. AerosolShield is lighter and more cost-effective than hard box solutions, and is collapsible for easy transport, storage, and disposal in standard yellow clinical waste bins. An AerosolShield can be deployed in less than 20 seconds, compared to the seven minutes it takes to correctly and safely apply full PPE.
How did MidTECH Innovations help?
AerosolShield was awarded the SME Health Innovation fund early this year which was set up to provide an investment in newly emerging healthcare products with links to the NHS. Mercia Asset Management (MAM), a leading investment business, collaborated with the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) and MidTECH in offering funding to a new healthcare product in the West Midlands, with MidTECH contributing £50,000 to the overall fund.
Intellectual Property and Commercialisation:
In terms of the AerosolShield and its intellectual property, the funds received have helped to develop and implement an IP strategy, working with Forresters. Forresters is a firm of patent and trademark attorneys based in Birmingham, Liverpool, London, Munich, and Southampton. It works on delivering clear, and practical advice to clients looking to protect their ideas. For more information on Forresters, click on the following link: https://www.forresters.co.uk/
Future Plan:
“From the very beginning, our sole focus has been to protect our friends and family who’ve been on the front lines of CoVID-19. For them, the constant fear of infection or of bringing the virus home to their loved-ones has been just as big a threat to their mental and physical health as the illness itself. We wanted to offer these incredible professionals greater support to do the jobs that they are so committed to performing under the most challenging conditions. Although we are now at the vaccination stage for CoVID-19 in the UK, it is clear that the virus is here to stay and others like it will continue to be a threat worldwide in the years to come. The next stage of our journey now focuses not just on lowering the risk of CoVID-19 but preparing health services for future outbreaks of similar viruses and other current diseases.” – Matthew Campbell-Hill, Co-owner & Lead Designer, AerosolShield
The lessons we have learned from CoVID-19 will continue to be invaluable in the years ahead – from lowering the risk of cross contamination of other aerosol-borne contagions, to preparing for humanitarian crises in developing countries and reducing the impact such viruses have on everyday life.
Looking ahead, AerosolShield is expanding its global reach and distribution capabilities including the United States and further beyond. New versions of the shield will also feature new capabilities to further enhance its effectiveness and usability in primary and secondary care settings.
More information on the AerosolShield:
If you would like more information on the AerosolShield and how it is helping healthcare staff across the world, please visit the website here: https://www.aerosolshield.com/