COVID-19 UPDATE: Innovation a key element of West Virginia’s ongoing COVID-19 response efforts
CHARLESTON,
WV – Since early March, when COVID-19 began to spread across
the United States, West Virginia has been at the forefront of innovative
response efforts.
Using a whole-of-government approach, Gov. Jim Justice has spearheaded a
multi-faceted response, working closely with government agencies, the
business community, West Virginia’s community and technical colleges and
higher education institutions, nonprofit and volunteer organizations, and
citizen groups to build response capabilities throughout the Mountain
State.
Throughout the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, West Virginia has
looked at innovative ways to partner with various organizations to engage
cutting-edge technologies and science to sanitize vehicles and
workspaces, provide additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to
first responders and medical professionals, and to assist with increased
testing capabilities.
Today, Gov. Justice and other state leaders provided an overview of
several products that have recently been developed in West Virginia to
streamline and broaden response capabilities, including new and
innovative ventilator systems, 3D-printed testing swabs, reusable medical
gowns, protective masks, and Hydrogen Peroxide disinfecting systems.
“I’ve said over and over, I could never be more proud of West Virginia
and West Virginians because they are the heart and soul of this country,”
Gov. Justice said. “At the end of the day, the very thing that they are
the greatest at is that they’re smart. They’re innovative people, they’re
creative people, they’re craftsmen, and you see it right here with what’s
happening.”
As the production of these innovative new products continues, the West
Virginia National Guard (WVNG) will work to build a stockpile of the
items in case a need to further ensure the safety of West Virginians
should arise in the future.
Seeing a national need for ventilators
and not wanting West Virginia to face shortages of the highly
sought-after machines, Azimuth, Inc. of Morgantown teamed with West
Virginia University (WVU) Medical Center and the WVNG to create new
styles of ventilators to aid in patient respiration.
“In conjunction with the West Virginia National Guard and the WVU Medical
Center, Azimuth developed the Automated Bag Ventilator System to increase
our state’s crisis preparedness,” stated Joshua Day a project manager and
electrical engineer for Azimuth, Inc. “Unlike other portable ventilator
systems, our system incorporates patient safety redundancies in a low
cost, low power, and portable solution.”
System design and fabrication were accomplished using Azimuth’s in-house
engineering capabilities while only sourcing a few custom components from
vendors, allowing for quick production and distribution of the new
ventilators to ensure West Virginian citizens were protected and medical
facilities had the critical ventilators on-hand to fight the virus and
save lives.
While testing is a critical element in
helping to fight COVID-19, testing materials such as swabs from both
local supplies and the Strategic National Stockpile were soon depleted
after the pandemic began to sweep the nation. In order to make sure West
Virginians could be properly tested, the WVNG contacted The Innovation
Hub, housed in the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and
Mineral Resources, which partnered with Formlabs, a 3D-printing
technology developer and manufacturer based in Somerville, Massachusetts,
to produce swabs for testing.
WVU and WVU Hospitals are now able to produce up to 10,000 swabs per week
to ensure COVID-19 testing needs are met across the Mountain State.
“One of the most important things identified for our state to combat
COVID-19 is our ability to conduct testing on a large scale,” said
Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, Adjutant General of the WVNG. “Understanding
this vital need, the Guard has stepped up to provide assistance in
procuring the necessary materials to make swabs right here in West
Virginia.
“Just as we have been innovative in developing our own PPE, this is
another example of the type of collaboration and ingenuity that makes
West Virginia stand out from the crowd in our ongoing response to this
pandemic.”
While corporate partner DuPont was busy
delivering stock Tyvek coveralls across the United States to protect
first responders, the company went one step further and developed a new
Tyvek-based material, specifically for COVID-19 response, that is being
produced and retrofitted in West Virginia.
DuPont donated material to West Virginia Correctional Industries which,
in turn, enlisted inmate workers to take the raw material and create
medical gowns in their facilities. Unlike single-use gowns that most
medical facilities utilize, these gowns can be sanitized and reused,
saving facilities expenses and helping to alleviate national supply
shortages of existing gowns.
In addition to the material that was donated by DuPont, Prison Industries
and Mustang Survival have produced more than 3,500 reusable gowns to
date, with more scheduled for production to meet demand in the state.
Perhaps nothing is more emblematic of
the COVID-19 pandemic than face masks. Across the world, face masks,
especially N-95 particulate masks which are used by medical professionals
and first responders, became a desperately needed item soon after the
pandemic began.
The WVNG, working with corporate partners, has developed a new
multi-functional reusable mask, utilizing 3D-printing technology and
innovation that is already being looked at by other states and national
organizations as a potential breakthrough in mask technology.
The mask itself is a soft, form-fitting unit that will mold itself to a
wearer’s face, providing a safe seal, with the benefit of a removable
filtration system. Filter materials can be made from various materials to
meet different requirements, including carbon filters and up to N-95
filtration. Filter materials can be disposed of after use, the mask
sanitized, and with new filter elements can be reutilized hundreds of
times. In addition to the built-in filter flexibility, the mask also
incorporates an oxygen outlet which can allow medical personnel to begin
oxygen treatments for patients without their mask having to be removed,
thereby mitigating potential exposure to harmful pathogens.
The mask, named the West Virginia Mask, is currently being tested by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and, upon
approval, will be produced en masse with production goals of 5,000 per
day. The masks will then be provided for free to medical professionals
and first responder agencies throughout West Virginia and will be made
available worldwide for purchase.
Aerosolized Hydrogen Peroxide (AHP)
systems are used in hospitals and medical facilities to disinfect and
sanitize metal and nonmetal medical devices such as surgery tools. The
systems work by utilizing a 7 percent hydrogen peroxide solution that is
vaporized into a dry fog and have been shown to be effective in killing
spores, viruses, mycobacteria, fungi, and bacteria.
Typically, AHP systems are static. However, early in the response
efforts, mobile AHP systems were identified as potentially game-changing
to help disinfect ambulance and first responder vehicles, as well as
building spaces that had been contaminated with COVID-19.
Sgt. 1st Class Brian Tomasek with the WVNG contacted a company based in
Florida that manufactures mobile AHP systems and was able to secure two
such systems to test the validity for mobile use.
Within a week of having the systems in hand, more than 150 ambulances and
first responder vehicles had been tested, and the systems had proven to
be incredibly useful.
Fast forward to the end of May, and the WVNG has procured 22 AHP systems,
which have been used to sanitize numerous daycare facilities, nursing
homes, gyms, workspaces, conference rooms at the West Virginia State
Capitol Complex, thousands of N95 and surgical masks for medical professionals
via a converted mobile cargo container unit, and more than 500 first
responder vehicles. Overall, more than 550 missions utilizing AHP have
been completed around the state, ensuring safe environments and equipment
for personnel and citizens.