Hampshire hospital becomes first in country to introduce new protective hood for staff
UNIVERSITY Hospital Southampton (UHS) has become the first healthcare provider in the country to widely introduce a pioneering protective respirator hood for staff treating patients with Covid-19.
The equipment, designed by researchers at the University of Southampton and the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre and clinicians at UHS, was developed into a prototype in just a week, tested on wards and manufactured at scale in less than a month.
Known as PeRSo, it consists of a fabric hood which covers the wearer's head and a plastic visor to protect their face.
It delivers clean air through a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter with belt-mounted fan pack, can be worn continuously for nine hours and is reusable after cleaning.
Front-line healthcare staff at UHS tested the prototypes on the wards last month and the concept has been made open-source so it is available to be manufactured around the world.
It is now subject to an initial clinical evaluation as a replacement for surgical masks in selected areas.
The project was initiated by professor Paul Elkington together with professor Hywel Morgan and colleagues in electronics and computer science (ECS) and engineering at the University of Southampton, along with industry experts including INDO, McLaren and Kemp Sails.
‘The aim is to minimise the risk of infection for medical staff and the engineering team have rapidly developed something simple yet effective which can provide further protection and resolve some of the supply chain issues associated with disposable PPE,’ professor Elkington said.
‘The HEPA filtered air removes more than 99.95 per cent of particulate matter and the face mask protects from splashes and accidental touching, so we believe this will significantly reduce the risk of infection further.’
Prof Morgan, of ECS at the University of Southampton, added: ‘This is an excellent example of industry, universities and hospitals combining their expertise and answering the call to develop healthcare solutions for staff and patients in this crisis.’