With the help of Texas A&M University at Qatar, the volunteers of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) will soon have 1,000 face shields to use in its coronavirus (Covid-19) fight.

The set of protection gear is critically needed to ensure the safety of the whole QRCS team. It is grateful to the Mechanical Engineering Program of the University for providing these tools via its state-of-the-art 3D printing and manufacturing facilities.

QRCS has already received the first batch of shields. The organization believes that these equipment are crucial for its volunteers and workers, stressing they need more than just a surgical mask to protect themselves from contracting the virus from quarantined patients. This is where the Rapid Prototyping Lab in Texas A&M at Qatar’s Mechanical Engineering Program came in.

There was an existing design prepared by the team of faculty and lab engineers. They came up with a new design that provides improved protection, after fabricating and testing a few prototypes. They also used advanced laser-cutting equipment to accurately cut the sheets and state-of-the-art 3D printing machines and design tools to fabricate the frames. The shields were then assembled, disinfected and packaged for delivery.

“We are excited to direct our efforts and resources to support Qatar Red Crescent and other national stakeholders in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar. We have reconfigured one of our laboratories as an assembly and production line to be able to produce large quantities of the face shields. Our dedicated lab engineers are working around the clock to deliver the 1,000 face shields to Qatar Red Crescent,” said Mechanical engineering laboratories manager Dr. Yasser Al-Hamidi.

“Our volunteers and medical professionals are doing an amazing job at the quarantine and other health facilities managed by QRCS. These face shields are vital for them to be safe while taking care of the patients. We do appreciate them as an indispensable asset for our country against the coronavirus pandemic,” added Abdullah Sultan Al-Qatan, Executive Director of QRCS’s Medical Affairs Division who thanked Texas A&M at Qatar for its support. 

The said project is a part of Texas A&M at Qatar’s mission to the State of Qatar. The full-cover face shields are just one of the several types of personal protective equipment and medical devices produced by the Mechanical Engineering Program of the University.

Dr. Hassan S. Bazzi, associate dean for research and advancement, added “At Texas A&M at Qatar, our vision is to be an essential resource to the State of Qatar. The technical expertise of our faculty and our well-equipped engineering laboratories are proving to be instrumental in supporting Qatar’s nationwide efforts in combating this pandemic. These efforts will not only help protect health care professionals, but will also save a tremendous amount of highly needed resources.”