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HANOI: Three Vietnamese school students have designed a helmet that enables frontline healthcare workers to grab a snack or even scratch their nose without exposing themselves to the risks of coronavirus infection.
The pandemic has shed light on the balance at times between comfort and safety in personal protective equipment (PPE), especially for workers who must wear such equipment for hours on end.
To address this issue, students were challenged to design a helmet connected to a respirator that not only protects but allows frontline workers to remain productive longer.
The group created the “Vihelm”, an acronym for Vietnam and helmet. It has an access to the glove compartment so that the user can reach inside and, for example, wipe sweat off their face or wipe a visor while keeping the helmet sealed.
16-year-old student Do Trong Minh Duc wears a prototype helmet called Vihelm, which he designed to protect nurses and doctors from contracting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in hospitals, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 4 September 2020 (Photo: REUTERS /). Minh Nguyen)
“A big difference with this helmet is the glove compartment … You can use it to interact with your face safely,” said 14-year-old Tran Nguyen Khanh An, one of the students who won a “Best Invention Design Award” at the International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada last month for its design.
The futuristic-looking helmet also has an internal compartment that can hold a snack for a front-line worker and is connected by tubing to an air-purifying respirator to exclude polluted air.
While these respirators are considered significantly safer than standard masks, they can be much more uncomfortable than other forms of PPE.
The Vihelm, which currently costs less than $ 300, even has pockets around the head area that allow users to scratch the area if the device starts rubbing in the area.
Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, said in a statement that the company had evaluated the helmet and offered technical comments on its design. Vingroup has been producing fans during the pandemic.
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