The University Hospital Center of São João (CHUSJ), in collaboration with CEiiA, has developed a ventilated medical helmet that allows you to “work safely and comfortably” in surgical procedures where there are risks associated with infectious or unknown agents.

It was because of the “insomnia” of Francisco Serdura, an orthopedic surgeon from CHUSJ, that the idea of ​​developing a medical device was born that would allow “to work safely with an open face and in covid-19 conditions with minimal comfort.”

“At the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, we had a sense of the difficulty of acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE) and the conditions in which the professionals actually worked with masks and goggles,” the clinician said, adding that perception of these difficulties intensified when the first patient was operated on with SARS-CoV-2.

Recognizing the challenges faced in this high-risk environment, Francisco Serdura challenged CEiiA, an Engineering and Development Center based in Matosinhos, to develop a solution together: a medical helmet.

A year and a half after the start of the test, the prototype medical helmet (still unnamed), in addition to protection, safety and comfort, includes a ventilation system.

“The equipment allows a person to ventilate the lungs both in the operating room and in intensive care units,” the doctor explained.

To make this device “beyond the covid-19 pandemic,” CEiiA engineers included a series of “gadgets” that could, for example, enable “team-to-team communication, connecting a range of equipment, and developing a headset to support virtual reality.”

The idea developed “in the sense that the helmet is not only a protective structure, but also a technological one, and with the development that is expected in the short term,” stressed Francisco Serdura.

Among the “gadgets” built into the helmet, there is the “Bluetooth” system, which will “control the communication speed and internal sound.”

“Our goal is to evolve into a platform for image-assisted surgery,” said the clinician.

Recalling that “the pandemic is not over yet” and that others may similarly arise, Francisco Serdura said that it is important for Portugal “to have technological sovereignty in order to have this equipment and create security conditions for its specialists.”

During the verification and certification process, the medical helmet will be used in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in “other circumstances where personal protection is required” for healthcare workers.

The medical helmet is one of the projects already being implemented by 4LifeLAB, a recently approved collaborative laboratory that aims to position Portugal in global value chains in healthcare markets.

The collaborative laboratory, bringing together excellence and innovation in science, medicine, engineering and industry, aims to develop, industrialize and certify advanced medical devices and related systems, enabling innovative methods that improve medical outcomes in urgent and urgent areas.

Another project to be developed is a “vertical and horizontal mobility hub / heliport”, which aims to “create new technologies for emergency medical care” using drones, according to Francisco Serdur, President of the Executive Board of 4LifeLAB.

“Added value [este hub] be used not only as a technological platform, but also as a helipad. I hope that very soon there will be drones and helmets for first responders from CHUSJ to provide assistance, “admitted the doctor, who believes that with 4LifeLAB” the conditions are created to do something really new and innovative. “

The headquarters of this joint laboratory will be located at the São João hospital, and it will have to work, although not in absolute numbers, “dozens of professionals.”

4LifeLAB partners include the University Hospital Center of São João (CHUSJ), CEiiA – Center for Engineering and Development, Academic Clinical Center (2CA), Institute for Research in Life and Health Sciences (ICVS) of the University of Mico, Fraunhofer AICOS, TMG, WiseHS and FioCruz (Brazil).

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