A worldwide shortage of medical equipment is making it difficult for doctors and nurses to treat COVID-19 patients safely. The Daniels Faculty is helping solve this problem in the best way it can: by using the Digital Fabrication Labratory's 3D printers and laser cutters to manufacture medical face shields — plastic protective devices that medical professionals use to defend themselves against airborne droplets. Daniels is producing these shields in coordination with the Toronto Emergency Device Accelerator, a multidisciplinary working group led by Matt Ratto, an associate professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information. Nicholas Hoban, the Daniels Faculty's digital fabrication coordinator, is overseeing the fabrication process with help from workshops and building services manager Naveed Khan, digital fabrication technologist Paul Kozak, workshop technologist Amy George, metal fabrication technologist Aaron Ronan, and studio technician Joseph Rogal. The effort has earned some press attention. For more information, check out these news articles: Canada’s new source for medical equipment: 3-D printers — (Alex Bozikovic, Globe and Mail) U of T researchers mobilize resources to produce equipment for health-care workers — (Rahul Kalvapalle, U of T News)

Photo of Nicholas Hoban by Nick Iwanyshyn/U of T News