Streaming issues? Report here
Africa Melane 2019 1500 BW Africa Melane 2019 1500 BW
Early Breakfast with Africa Melane
04:00 - 06:00
volume_up
volume_mute

Up Next: Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit
See full line-up
Early Breakfast with Africa Melane
04:00 - 06:00
Home
arrow_forward
Business
fiber_manual_record
Local
fiber_manual_record
World

SA company wins top award for 3D printed respirator that protects medics

9 February 2021 6:17 PM
Tags:
The Money Show
Bruce Whitfield
3D printing
COVID-19
PPE
personal protective equipment
Marc Ruwiel
International Design Awards
PAPR
Powered Air Purifying Respirator
industrial design
Ideso

The local product costs a fraction of the price of imported units. Bruce Whitfield interviews Ideso design director Marc Ruwiel.

A Cape Town industrial design firm has won gold at the prestigious International Design Awards in the US.

Ideso took top honours in the Industrial And Life Science Design/Safety Designs category for its Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR).

The PAPR is a form of personal protective equipment (PPE) used to safeguard health care professionals in contact with Covid-19 or TB patients.

It is 3D printed which makes it affordable, and also modular, allowing single components to be replaced.

Image: Ideso on Facebook @ideso.design. Permission for use supplied
Image: Ideso on Facebook @ideso.design. Permission for use supplied

The Ideso PAPR has answered an urgent need, say the International Design Awards judges.

"Feedback from health care professionals like doctors, dentists and physiotherapists has been overwhelmingly positive, praising the ease of use, light weight, comfort and, importantly, the level of safety."

The PAPR is selling for for just over R6,800 versus R30–R40,000 for imported units says Ideso design director Marc Ruwiel.

On The Money Show, he explains how it all started.

It unfolded through a Dr Ettienne Myburgh who put out a call on Facebook I think the week after South Africa went into its very first lockdown... He said something like this would become very necessary very soon...

Marc Ruwiel, Design director - Ideso

We responded to the challenge... We spent about two months developing the PAPR and prototyping it and eventually we put it into production!

Marc Ruwiel, Design director - Ideso

The air inlet of the respirator is worn in a pack on the medical professional's back.

Two filters filtrate about 99.5% of particles larger than 0.1 micron.

Because that is facing away from a patient who may be infected, you're getting purified air that we suck through these filters and you create a positive air pressure around your face.

Marc Ruwiel, Design director - Ideso

Visit Ideso's website for more info or contact Marc Ruwiel at marc@udeso.co.za.

Listen to the interview on The Money Show:




9 February 2021 6:17 PM
Tags:
The Money Show
Bruce Whitfield
3D printing
COVID-19
PPE
personal protective equipment
Marc Ruwiel
International Design Awards
PAPR
Powered Air Purifying Respirator
industrial design
Ideso

More from Business

More from Local

More from World