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USAID names award nominees for Ebola protective workwear

01 Jan '15

3 min read

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) named first nominees in the ‘Fighting Ebola: a Grand Challenge for Development’ award.

According to USAID, following a rigorous selection process, these innovators have been identified for the solutions they presented to increase the protection and comfort of healthcare workers battling Ebola.

These include; Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design (CBID) & Jhpiego for a healthcare worker suit, redesigned for quicker and safer doffing/removal with integrated cooling features utilising technology from Johns Hopkins University.

Aquarius GEP LLC and Innovative BioDefense for an antiseptic that, when applied to skin, provides up to six hours of pathogen protection and serves as an anti-microbial barrier to viral transmission for health care workers.

SPR Advanced Technologies for a long-lasting, spray-on barrier that kills and repels microbes with electro-static fields to prevent surface contamination and allows for more breathable PPE materials

Besides, USAID is also partnering with The Global Good Fund/Intellectual Ventures to rapidly evaluate several cooling solutions, including phase-change material cooling solutions, which is an off-the-shelf, rapidly deployable cooling garments currently used by military that can be worn underneath existing PPE.

The other solution from Qore Performance, Inc. for an arterial cooling base layer system is again an innovative base layer cooling solution from a sports-wear company that cools the body by cooling the blood at pulse points.

“The Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge embodies our new model of development, bringing together the world’s brightest minds to solve our biggest global challenges,” said USAID administrator, Rajiv Shah, who will share a prototype of one of the selected designs at the White House.

He added, “By working together with our partners from government, business, and civil society, we are creating innovations that will not only help West Africa’s most vulnerable communities beat the Ebola epidemic, but also break the cycle of extreme poverty.”

Led by USAID, the Challenge launched in early October and sourced new, practical solutions in partnership with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Defense.

In just two months, innovators from around the world submitted over 1,500 ideas focused on helping frontline health care workers to provide better, more timely care and to contain this devastating virus.

After hearing pitches from top innovators, US Government experts and international partners selected the most promising ideas through a rapid, rigorous review process.

This first round of awards focuses on improving the safety and comfort of the personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by healthcare workers and alleviating the heat stress it can cause in the hot, humid climates of West Africa. (AR)

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India