Exclusive: take a first look at the next generation ebola-protection suit

QUARTZ  by Grace Dobush                                         March 13, 2015

AUSTIN, Texas—Perhaps the most surprising and important product debuting at SXSW Interactive this year is a personal protective equipment (PPE) prototype for health care workers dealing with Ebola, a tangible result of the U.S. government adapting the culture of innovation and design thinking so key in the startup world.

A team from the U.S. Agency for International Development demonstrated the traditional Ebola suit and the new suit in a preview for Quartz....

The two biggest issues with past PPEs were the tendency for workers to overheat and the high risk of contamination when removing the suit.... The traditional Ebola suit is made up of many parts....  That means the suit also takes about 20 minutes to take off — after merely 45 to 60 minutes of wearing it, lest the health care worker overheat — and that must be done solo.

The new suit—designed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design and Jhpiego, a global health organization and Hopkins affiliate, and demonstrated at SXSW by Matt Petney, a JHU biomedical engineer—is one piece, with improved vision and ventilation and a quick removal process.

The Johns Hopkins suit is one of the 15 awardees of USAID’s Ebola Grand Challenge. Sponsored with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Defense Department...
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http://qz.com/362384/exclusive-take-a-first-look-at-the-next-generation-ebola-protection-suit/