The Firemen of Brussels, the CHU Saint-Pierre and the FabLab of the Free University of Brussels have joined forces.
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Lhe firefighters in Brussels, the CHU Saint-Pierre in Brussels and the FabLab at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) have refurbished old firefighters’ protective masks for healthcare workers who are on the front line against the coronavirus epidemic .
The converted masks are former masks of the team specialized in hazardous materials of the Brussels firefighters (Team HAZMAT).
“Thanks to a 3D printer, the FabLab has developed a connector which allows these old masks to be connected to an HMEF 1000 filter. The masks thus equipped make it possible to filter 99% of viruses, bacteria and fungi”, said in a press release on Friday multidisciplinary team formed by Brussels firefighters, the FabLab (digital manufacturing workshop) of the ULB and the CHU Saint-Pierre represented by Doctor Marc Decroly.
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“Robust and durable, these masks can be disinfected after use and reused. They are of course less comfortable than the usual protective masks, but in times of crisis they can be perfectly used to guarantee the safety of care and rescue personnel, “the press release said.
“This is particularly the case for the SMUR teams at CHU Saint-Pierre who have been using 30 of these masks for several days already. This allows them to focus fully on their task without putting their own health at risk. A total of 130 connectors were produced by the FabLab and volunteer architects. 30 connectors were given to CHU Saint-Pierre and the other 100 to firefighters in Brussels. These connectors are also compatible with new firefighters’ fire masks. “
Knowledge of connector assembly and fabrication has been made “open source”
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