The engineering teachers and students at Charlotte Latin School aren’t taking this time as a break from learning & creating, in fact, just the opposite.
Inspired by the #MillionMaskChallenge, the Fab Lab Academy at Charlotte Latin School have designed their own face shield that can be 3D printed on site.
They consulted physicians from Atrium Health in order to refine their prototype and make sure their design followed the standards outlined in the CDC “Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Face Masks.“
The result is a clear plastic shield that extends an inch or two in front of someone’s nose, leaving the user enough room to wear a surgical mask underneath.
Their goal is to to 3D print 10,000 face shields that will be provided to local hospitals in Charlotte, starting with the Levine Cancer Institute.
The GoFundMe page is here, and the effort has already met and exceeded its $50,000 goal. While donations are currently disabled, since their goal has been met, you can read more about the effort and updates at this page.
By accessing to the 3D printers at Charlotte Latin and UNCC, they are working around the clock to print the components for face shields. Once the components have been printed and checked for quality control, volunteers will assemble the face shields by hand, sanitize the finished product, and prep them for delivery.
The first batch of face shields was delivered to the ICU and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Atrium Health yesterday.
So proud to be a Charlottean and a Latin Hawk family!
WHO LEADS THE EFFORT / ADVISORS & PARTNERS
Seungjean Chai, MD, is a physician at Atrium Health with a specialty in medical oncology (cancer). He also serves as the President of the Medical Staff for Carolinas Medical Center and Mercy and is the Director of Medical Operations for Levine Cancer Institute. He oversees governance for doctors and the hospital, as well as operation oversight for the cancer center.
Janie Chai, MD is a pediatrician with Novant Health Pediatrics SouthPark. The Chai’s have 2 daughters who attend Charlotte Latin School.
Tom Dubick is the Fab Lab Director and the Innovation and Design Chair at Charlotte Latin School. He has over 30 years of experience as a teacher and engineering evangelist who has promoted Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) education in and outside of the K-12 classroom.
Terence Fagan is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Azalea Kim, MD, MBA, MPA, is Chief of Staff to the Chief Medical Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. She is a primary care physician and Medical Director for Applied Health Data Science and Strategy for Duke Forge, Duke University’s Center for Health Data Science, and Duke Health Technology Solutions.
