iIdCehnetmifEy tperaomce hsse ltpos safely reuse PPE THE INSTITUTION OF Chemical
sterilise certain surgical equipment
Engineers (IChemE) was recently
for re-use and frequently clean items
approached by NHS England and
of linen. This approach is no di erent.
NHS Improvement to provide a
Our job as engineers is to ensure that
proposal to review how personal
this process is carried out correctly
protective equipment (PPE) might be
and consistently so that NHS sta feel
decontaminated and safely reused,
safe and can continue their vital work
thereby helping to alleviate any
without fear of running out of PPE.”
potential PPE shortages and reduce
A key objective for any enterprise
the burden of disposal. As a result,
conducting the trials would be to
IChemE members, working on a
demonstrate regulatory compliance
voluntary basis, have initiated three
of the relevant standards, thereby
parallel projects, initially focusing
showing that the decontamination
on demonstrating the technical
process is safe to operate and that
feasibility of decontaminating PPE.
masks that have been through the
Volunteers from the Institution’s
process are acceptable for use in the
COVID-19 Response Team, working
NHS, other health care sectors and
with the International Society
elsewhere.
for Pharmaceutical Engineers
(ISPE), have already identi ed
several di erent solutions to
decontaminate PPE including
the use of vaporised hydrogen
peroxide. This methodology has
been approved in other countries
for decontamination purposes,
plus it is already a recognised
process for decontaminating
equipment in hospitals and within the
pharmaceutical industry.
Dr Nicholas Geary from the
IChemE COVID-19 Response
Team said: “Whilst the idea
of decontamination of
PPE may seem strange,
hospitals regularly
NEWS | EUREKA!
PAEIDO SPOLEC CIAOLU DNISTTEARN TCOIN G
RS COMPONENTS HAS joined
forces with miniature PLC
manufacturer BARTH Elektronik
GmbH to develop a simple maker
project that aids social distancing in
the e ort to prevent the spread of
COVID-19.
The project, called ‘People
Counter’, can be assembled in less
than an hour and records the number
of people entering and exiting a
room, indicating when it is safe to
allow more people to enter while
still maintaining the recommended
distance from others.
Two photoelectric proximity
sensors, or light barriers, detect
the direction of movement, while a
miniature PLC calculates the number
of people in and out of the store in
real time. A password-protected CAN
touch screen is used to pre-set the
maximum people limit and also serves
as a ‘tra c light’ system, illuminating
green when access is granted and red
when access is denied. .
The project design is very simple.
All of the parts required are available
to purchase from RS, and the full Bill
of Materials, 3D data, software and
manuals can be downloaded from the
RS DesignSpark engineering website.
Daniel Barth, CEO of Baerth
Elektronik, who devised this project,
commented: “It was important to
nd a precise, contactless solution
that could protect public health, while
avoiding the costs associated with
employing extra sta to monitor
numbers manually.”
Mike Bray, VP of Innovation at RS,
added: “This is a simple project that
could have a huge, positive impact
on the way retailers help protect
customers from COVID-19 while
they are out shopping. We would
encourage any makers keen to help
combat the virus to look at this
project and consider how it could
support businesses in their area, and
then perhaps help those retailers to
implement it.”
JUNE 2020 | WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK 7
/WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK