Masks & Face Shields
Decontaminating N95 masks
Duke Health researchers have successfully found a way to decontaminate masks so that they may be reused. Vaporized hydrogen peroxide is used in a process which can clean 500 masks in a single cycle without causing damage.
“This is a decontamination technology and method we’ve used for years in our biocontainment laboratory,” said Scott Alderman, associate director of the Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory.
3-D Printed Face Shields
A Duke task force comprised of Duke engineers, medical and technology professionals developed a reusable medical face shield using Duke’s 3D printing technology.
Surgical Hoods
3D SHIELD (3D-printed Surgical Helmet IntakE manifoLD)
A protective respirator created by a Duke medical and engineering task force has turned a surgical helmet, which uses room air, into a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR), that uses filtered air.
TEAM
- Lead: Melissa Erickson (Department of Surgery, Fuqua WEMBA)
- Members: Eric Richardson (BME), Paul Fearis (BME), Chip Bobbert (OIT), Mark Palmeri (BME)
This design has been made available for others to 3D print their own modified PAPRs.
To download the designs, technical data, instructional video, and safety information, you will be asked to agree to our 12-month royalty-free license agreement.
FAQs
1. Can Duke make or sell the 3D SHIELD for us?
Unfortunately, Duke can’t make the 3D SHIELD for use outside of Duke, and we can’t sell goods at all.
2. Is this an FDA-approved or cleared product?
No, this device was developed rapidly in response to COVID-19
3. I’m a 3D-Printing Company, can I access these files?
Yes, after you sign and return the 12-month royalty-free license agreement, you may access the files. However, you may not share them with anyone, including a hospital you might partner with. If you partner with a hospital, you will need to have them also sign the agreement.
4. What materials were used to print the device and what type of machine was it printed on?
The 3D SHIELD manifold components were printed on Formlabs printer models Form 2, 3 and 3B using ‘Durable’. The manifolds were all processed using the Formlabs wash and cure station, which is part of Formlabs’s ecosystem.
3D Printers
We are providing a list of 3D printers that have we have either worked with or have partnered with another institute outside of Duke to create the 3D SHIELD. Duke does not endorse any of these companies. We are only providing them as they should have the technical ability and printers needed for making the 3D SHIELD, or at least with fabricating the manifold (3D-printed) component.
Ventilators/Ventilator Parts
Vaccines & Tests (Research, Production, Administering)
See all our Vaccine Technologies
Biomedical engineers adapt simple, low-cost platform to diagnose the new coronavirus

Biomedical engineers at Duke University are adapting a rapid testing platform originally designed to detect Ebola to see whether it could be of use in detecting antigens to SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The National Science Foundation has awarded them a Rapid Response Research grant to adapt the fast, simple, and low-cost diagnostic tool. Inkjet-printed on a small glass slide, the D4 assay is a self-contained diagnostic test that detects low levels of antigens–the specific protein markers created by exposure to a pathogen–from a single drop of blood or from a throat-or nose-swab sample.
Drug Development
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has funded up to $50 million to evaluate HCQ as a preventive drug for the novel coronavirus.
The funding creates a new rapid-response study designed and led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) which seeks to engage healthcare workers across the nation to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their health and to evaluate whether hydroxychloroquine can prevent COVID-19 infections in healthcare workers at high risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Software, Workflows, Predictive Models, Decision Tools
All Other Medical Devices
Misc
Duke New Ventures
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If you are interested in collaborating on any of these, please contact us for an introduction. Note: we have asked permission of all listed inventors to publish the information on this page.