ODESSA, Fla. — Roy Kirchner responded to the calls of desperation coming to his Ultimate 3D Printing Store once the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States.
"We were receiving over a hundred calls a day from hospital personnel, husbands and wives of doctors and nurses and saying, 'is there any way that you can help us? We’ve seen it on TV. Can you help us print our masks?'" Kirchner said.
While Kirchner said he couldn't replicate the medical masks needed by healthcare workers, he could make "aerosol boxes" -- the new shield for doctors in the emergency room to protect against COVID-19.
An ER doctor in Illinois showed CBS News National Correspondent David Begnaud exactly how the boxes work.
The reusable clear boxes cover a patient’s face and head, allowing doctors to be protected when they reach inside to incubate someone for a ventilator without fear of being sprayed with respiratory droplets.
"These people are selfless. They need our help. They’re begging for our help. That’s all that matters. They are the heroes," Kirchner said.
Kirchner is now working around the clock to make as many shield boxes as he can before the virus peaks in Florida.
His company can manufacture as many as 50 protective boxes per day. They are made of acrylic and measure 30 x 20 x 16 with two 5.5-inch holes for a worker to insert their hands inside.
The design is registered as an open-source license, meaning it is free for public use.
Kirchner has already provided prototypes to HCA Healthcare and is starting to mass-produce other critical personal protective equipment such as face shields.
Contact Kirchner here if you can donate supplies (packing and shipping materials to place the aerosol boxes in for delivery) or if you can assist in coordinating logistics to ensure all deliveries are going where they need to go in a timely manner. Ultimate 3D Printing Store created a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise money so he can continue buying materials to build the aerosol boxes and purchase more personal protective equipment for local first responders.
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