Academics from the university’s Faculty of Dental Surgery have pitched in to develop a 3D digital methodology that designs 3D printed masks based on the face scans of healthcare professionals.

The project is aiming to help health professionals who are on the frontline during this pandemic with the distribution of customised masks.

The faculty currently also has a number of academics, clinical tutors and clinical-year students volunteering in the swabbing of potential COVID-19 patients. This initiative led to the current research endeavour that is helping protect the faculty’s members and other healthcare workers alike. 

The masks are printed with a filament 3D printer and are developed using a free computer-aided 3D design software. The individualised masks have a better fit than the normal masks, showing better qualitative fit test results. 

“Protective equipment is in great demand right now, and is needed by the frontliners who are doing so much invaluable work. We have friends and colleagues on the frontline swabbing patients and we want them to be safe. This initiative will help them be in a better position to care for themselves, while caring for their patients”, members of the research team said. 

They also indicated that once “normality” was restored, dentistry would be undergoing a major shift in its operations and research activities to reduce risks associated with aerosol-borne particles and microbes. 

The research team behind this initiative involves Arthur Cortes, Emad Deen, Edward Sammut, Juliana No Cortes and Nikolai Attard. 

Local designer and manufacturer of dental devices Kurt Galea is also taking part.