Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ Team Decontaminates PPE for Re-Use | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

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Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ students walking through Lubbock campus courtyard.

Team Decon Works to Solve PPE Shortages

team decon
 

In its seemingly unstoppable march across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a constant shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) that is critical to protecting health care workers. To address the issue, PPE makers have ramped up production, authorities have tapped into the nation’s emergency stockpiles and manufacturers from other industries have retooled to make more ventilators and masks. Still, the shortages are ongoing.

One suggested way to reduce the stress COVID-19 has placed on the PPE supply chain is to extend the lifetime existing equipment. With that in mind, a team from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ) has been studying a method that can decontaminate used PPE, especially N95 masks and face shields.

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  • Building PPE decontamination shelves
  • Putting shelves in racks
  • Team unloading biomedical waste
  • Team discussing strategy
  • Wrapping PPE for decontamination
  • More boxes of biomedical waste
  • Team posing behind biomedical waste
  • Guns up from team
  • Decontamination unit
  • PPE in decontamination unit
  • Decontaminated PPE on racks
  • Masks on decontamination rack