Spread of COVID-19 has resulted in a huge demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers in essential services exposed to high-risk environments. As standard PPE kits become scarce, there is a need for low-cost and mass producible alternatives that provide protection for the entire body.
A team of researchers led by Dr. Nitin Gupta & industry partners based on thin cylindrical rolls/pipes of polyethylene, which is non-porous & commonly used in the industry for packaging & making plastic-bags. Polythene material makes airtight and will provide required protection. It can be easily mass manufactured and transported at scale. The technology is made open source for anybody to make it. Easy to scale, cost effective and relevant particularly as imported kits are difficult to get.