‘Protection shield’ for dentists is invented with the help of INEGI and is already patent pending
02-06-2020
Given the nature of their activity, dentists and other oral health professionals have to be in close proximity to patients and are thus easily exposed to respiratory lets and aerosols. A challenge in the context of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, which two researchers set out to solve.
Joaquim Gabriel Mendes is a researcher at INEGI and at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), and Miguel Pais Clemente is a researcher at the Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transport and Aeronautics (LAETA), the FCT research unit coordinated by INEGI, and at Faculty of Medicine (FMUP). The skills of both allowed them to create a new solution called the aerosol protective shield, a device made in acrylic that separates the user from the professional.
The innovative character of the solution and its relevance in the current context has already led to the submission of a patent application.
It is an inverted U-shaped box, with side holes that allow the hands of professionals to enter. It is transparent, ensuring a correct visualization of the operative field, and equipped with a ventilation system to ensure the extraction of aerosols and a specific filter to retain bacteria and viruses.
Joaquim Gabriel Mendes, researcher at INEGI, explains that the solution created constitutes “an additional means of protection that works as a protective shield between the patient and the clinician”, benefiting both, and minimizing the risks associated with aerosols.
In other words, the device can be seen as “an extension of personal protective equipment”, he adds.
Portugal was in a state of emergency for 45 days, a period in which dentists and stemmatologists were unable to work. The resumption of clinical activity took place on May 4th, but clinics and dental offices continue to be places with high risk of contagion.
The protective shield will thus be able to provide dental medicine and stomatology with an additional tool to complement personal protective equipment that these health professionals are already used to.
Joaquim Gabriel Mendes is a researcher at INEGI and at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), and Miguel Pais Clemente is a researcher at the Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transport and Aeronautics (LAETA), the FCT research unit coordinated by INEGI, and at Faculty of Medicine (FMUP). The skills of both allowed them to create a new solution called the aerosol protective shield, a device made in acrylic that separates the user from the professional.
The innovative character of the solution and its relevance in the current context has already led to the submission of a patent application.
It is an inverted U-shaped box, with side holes that allow the hands of professionals to enter. It is transparent, ensuring a correct visualization of the operative field, and equipped with a ventilation system to ensure the extraction of aerosols and a specific filter to retain bacteria and viruses.
Joaquim Gabriel Mendes, researcher at INEGI, explains that the solution created constitutes “an additional means of protection that works as a protective shield between the patient and the clinician”, benefiting both, and minimizing the risks associated with aerosols.
In other words, the device can be seen as “an extension of personal protective equipment”, he adds.
Portugal was in a state of emergency for 45 days, a period in which dentists and stemmatologists were unable to work. The resumption of clinical activity took place on May 4th, but clinics and dental offices continue to be places with high risk of contagion.
The protective shield will thus be able to provide dental medicine and stomatology with an additional tool to complement personal protective equipment that these health professionals are already used to.
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