Shreveport-based LA New Product Development Team, a product design, development, and marketing company, are relocating their 3D printers to assist with the COVID-19 crisis.
The LA NPDT team is using their printers in hopes of making 10,000 face shields per week to distribute to medical staff and testing sites.
UpShield, the protective face shields, are being sent to states such as California and New York, but the LA NPDT team is still prioritizing their home state of Louisiana.
“It feels good to help someone when they are in need,” shared Onega Ulanova, co-founder of LA NPDT. “Medical personnel are putting their lives on the line daily to help us. It’s the least we can do since we have the ability to do so.”
Scale, a coworking space in New Orleans, has partnered with several local businesses to design and produce vital equipment for hospitals.
Along with rapid prototyping and advanced manufacturing company Entrescan, 3D scanning company Robert Forbes 3D, and furniture and design company Good Wood NOLA, Scale has been able to create Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers at Ochsner Health.
Scale has been sharing daily updates about the equipment and supplies they have been able to deliver to the hospital. Yesterday, they delivered 400 face shields to Ochsner along with two new ventilator splitter prototypes, which allows more than one person to use the same ventilator.
“We continued prototyping a skirt to fit around the neck of the full face shield as an extra safety precaution,” Scale continued.
Follow along with their updates here.