One of the greatest challenges facing health care workers during the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has been the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Connor Duncan, a sophomore homeschooler in Spokane, Washington, decided to take action to help people, like his mom (who is a nurse practitioner). He used his love of math and science to create face shields using a 3-D printer.
"I know that there's a national shortage of the personal protective equipment, so I wanted to protect them with these masks," Duncan told KXLY-TV. "It's something that was just a hobby and now it can be applied toward other things."
Duncan found videos on YouTube and a pattern that's compatible with his printer. Each mask takes roughly two hours to make. As of now, he has printed nine of them. His ultimate goal is 20 so that his mom and her team can have them during the pandemic.
"We are really putting ourselves out there," mom Christina explained. "When we go see patients right now, we are fully gloved and masked and we have eye protection and for any respiratory complaints, we are wearing gowns and shoe protectors, we have face shields."
Even though Christina Duncan said her facility isn't currently treating coronavirus patients, she expects that to change in the coming days and weeks.