SDU and Engineers Without Borders provide face masks in Africa

The World Health Organization, WHO, recommends rapid and consistent testing for COVID-19 to monitor the circulation of the virus in the general public. In response to this, the world’s first automatic swab robot was launched in Denmark on Wednesday May 27th, 2020.
The groundbreaking robot has been designed and developed by a team of robotics researchers at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Odense, a city home to one of the world’s leading robotics clusters.

Reduces the risk of infection

A new company called Lifeline Robotics, which is owned jointly between the university, Norrsken Foundation, and REInvest Robotics, aims to take the swab robot from prototype to market in record time, hoping to equip the first hospitals in just a matter of months.

He quickly contacted Engineers Without Borders and Christine Stabell Benn, who is a professor in Global Health at the Department of Clinical Research and leader of the Bandim Health Project. As soon as Christine got the call from Kjeld, thought to action happened quickly.

- I immediately saw the idea in this project, tells Christine Stabell Benn.

- Even though there is no scientific consensus about the effectiveness of masks, it is my professional assessment that the use of masks will help limit the contamination and slow down the transmission of COVID-19. A flattened curve will have a great significance for African countries, where the healthcare systems are not equipped to take in many patients at the same time.

Sewn from African cotton

Fabric masks are not all equal. Their effectiveness depends largely on how they are sewn, what shape they have, how they are constructed, and what materials are used.

Since the masks in the project will be produced by local tailors and with local materials, it was important that Dylan Cawthorne’s prototype took this into account.

Luckily, Christine Stabell Benn had two shirts made of African cotton in her wardrobe. She dropped them off in front of Dylan’s front door in Odense and he then started to cut, sew, and develop the prototype. One of the first things he did, was to check the construction of the fabric through a microscope to assess the density.

Tight and comfortable

- I’m happy to contribute to this, and I find it very interesting to combine my two interests of engineering and sewing, tells Dylan Cawthorne.

- It is important that the masks are tight enough to stop drops of infection. At the same time, it needs to be comfortable enough to wear. It took me many hours at the sewing machine to perfect the design.

The team behind the project expects that one tailor can produce six masks every hour. This way, production can be quickly scaled up.

Tested by FORCE Technology

In addition, FORCE Technology has offered to collaborate with tests of the mask. This will help the team understand the quality, and how fabric masks perform compared to common medical masks.

- This is a good non-profit initiative, and we’re happy to be able to contribute, even though we are very busy, says Henrik Lindeløv, Head of Department at FORCE Technology.

Pleased with SDU cooperation

At Engineers Without Borders, secretary-general Dorte Lindegaard Madsen is pleased with the SDU collaboration.

- We have come together to solve a serious and urgent problem, and we are proud to be a part of this. It is spot on for us to contribute to the production of protective equipment for the civilian population. With SDU as a partner, there is a strong interdisciplinary foundation behind the project. It makes good sense that we try to solve this jointly, she says.

While clinical trials are to be conducted in Guinea-Bissau and led by SDU, it is Engineers Without Borders who has the main responsibility for the production and distribution in Sierra Leone.

- 70 people in a technical college for disabled students in Sierra Leone are already sewing the first masks by following Dylan’s instructions, and we have a great number of other collaborators who will soon be involved, tells Dorte Lindegaard Madsen.

Major clinical study

The research station Bandim Health Project in Guinea Bissau has followed the population since 1978 with a focus on health and illness. As many as 100,000 people are being closely followed, with researchers focusing largely on vaccines and mortality.

It is these people who will now be provided with the masks, at different intervals, so that Christine Stabell Benn and other scientists can demonstrate to what extent the protection of masks effects the rate of sickness and mortality of COVID-19.

A research protocol, drawn up in collaboration with local partners in Guinea-Bissau, is currently being approved by the Ethics Committee, and as soon as it is in place, and funding has been secured, the project will take off.

- The special thing about Dylan’s mask is that it sits close to the face. This means that it presumably gives far better protection than scarfs and simpler masks. Now we need to investigate how many particles it removes and how it works in the local community.

- Hopefully, it will lead to fewer people getting sick at the same time. We also hope to gain more knowledge about the effect of masks, concludes Christine Stabell Benn.

The next steps

In the coming weeks, researchers from SDU and voluntary engineers from Engineers Without Borders will continue to work on the development of the mask and test methods. Meanwhile, they must secure the economy.

- We have put in many hours in the project, and our joint e-meetings are held both in evenings and weekends. It is fantastic to experience the energy and creativity that has emerged from the interdisciplinary collaboration between doctors and engineers. Everyone is making an extra effort to contribute to reducing the infection in the African countries. Now, we are looking for a fund or a donor, who will work with us to complete the clinical study, concludes Kjeld Jensen.