Japan Medical Company uses 3D printing to make face shields against COVID-19

A Japanese company is using cutting-edge 3D printing technology to make medical face shields to give free to medical institutions. This comes amid a lack of protective equipment for staff battling the spread of COVID-19.

The Japan Medical Company Inc. will supply 500 prototype shields free to hospitals, and even more should medical institutions request them.

Amid global shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) due to the coronavirus pandemic, many countries are using 3D printing technology to  meet the dire demand. It is being utilized to make masks and even artificial respirators, which Japan Medical Company is also considering manufacturing.

Saving lives with stationery?

To make the shields, the company is using clear folders from the stationery company KOKUYO. They are made from highly transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Japan Medical Company is accepting requests from medical institutions for face shields via its website (in Japanese).

Tokyo’s Jikei University School of Medicine tested the face shields and recommends them. By covering the wearer’s face, the plastic shields protect the eyes, nose and mouth from droplet infection caused when a patient sneezes, for example.

Desperate times call for everyone’s help

An unprecedented demand is not the only problem. Disruptions to global supply chains caused by COVID-19 have also contributed to a PPE shortage. Officials in Osaka, one of Japanese city hit hardest by the new virus, in mid-April issued an urgent plea for citizens to donate plastic raincoats to hospitals for use as PPE, while some doctors there were already resorting to wearing garbage bags for protection.

The face shields doesn’t only protect the doctors. In protecting them, it also protects the general public by ensuring that medical staff are fit and available to care for them. It’s a very clear example of how helping someone has a kick-on effect – of how we can look out for one another.