°®°®Ö±²„ students turn toolbox into UV mask sterilizer for Longest Student Health Center
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.āMississippi StateĀ mechanicalĀ engineering students have turned aĀ conventional truck toolbox into a device that will sterilizeĀ faceĀ masks for the universityās John C. Longest Student Health Center staff.Ā
A team of two students, under the leadership ofĀ researchersĀ at °®°®Ö±²„ās Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems,Ā built and tested the device before deliveringĀ itĀ to theĀ health center on Monday [April 13].Ā Built using low-costĀ materials, the device can sterilizeĀ 15-20 masksĀ inĀ minutes, filling a need for the health center during the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide shortage of masks.
āItās a great application of what we learn in school because thereās not always a standard solution,ā said Ryden Smith, a mechanical engineering graduate student from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.Ā āIāve been really honored with the opportunity to work on this and help our healthcare providers.āĀ
Working with Smith on the project is Wesley Cameron, a senior mechanical engineering major from Richton.Ā He said the team looked at established healthcare sterilizationĀ protocolsĀ and studies on UV lightās effects on N95 masksĀ to design the device and determineĀ best practices.Ā
Dr. Cliff Story,Ā °®°®Ö±²„ director of University Health Services, reached out to campus officialsĀ to see if someone at the university could build a sterilizationĀ device to help the center get more use out of its masks amid a nationwide shortage.Ā
āWe didnāt really have a way to sanitize masks other than to put them in a paper bag and store them for about three weeks, assuming that the virus would die during that time,ā Story said.Ā āAdding thisĀ sterilization process to the storage solution only makes us more confident in our supply. Itās awesome that the team at CAVS was able to build this. Iām really excited about this, as are the other doctors in the clinic.āĀ
The students at CAVS workedĀ under the direction ofĀ Associate DirectorĀ Hongjoo Rheeās research team and wereĀ encouraged and aidedĀ byĀ CAVS staff includingĀ Purchasing CoordinatorĀ Andrea Hemmingway Oakley,Ā Research EngineerĀ Jennie Maddox andĀ Assistant Professor of Mechanical EngineeringĀ Wil Whittington.ĢżĢżĀ
WhittingtonĀ explained that while using UV light to sanitize medical gear is not new,Ā large hospitals often have a single room dedicated to UV sterilization.Ā Portable UV sterilizers are available, but they cost hundreds of dollars and are much smaller than the device his students made using a toolbox.
āThere are a lot of smaller health facilities like the LongestĀ Student Health Center and nursing homes that donāt have the real estateĀ to dedicate an entire room to this, so having something that can be put in a room but is still large enough to handle a large volume of masks can be helpful,ā Whittington said. āWe talked about retrofitting a closet for this, but the students came up with the idea of retrofitting a toolbox, which can just beĀ placed in a room without having to change a room to provide the aluminum reflectivity you need.āĀ
The CAVS team will work with health center staff this week to determine protocols and best practices for using the device.Ā They plan to share the designĀ specificationsĀ so other health care centers canĀ have similar devices made and extend the lifespan of their personal protective equipment.Ā
For more on CAVS, visitĀ . For more on °®°®Ö±²„ās James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, visitĀ .ĢżĢż
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