Custom solution for PPE in the orthopaedic setting: retrofitting Stryker Flyte T5® PPE system

Gibbons, John P.; Hayes, Joshua; Skerritt, Conor J.; O’Byrne, John M.; Green, Connor J.

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that there is growing pressure on hospital resources not least the availability of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), specifically, facemasks and respirator masks. Within the field of orthopaedic surgery, it is a common sight to see orthopaedic surgery carried out in “space suits” (SS) which comprise of a helmet, hood and surgical gown. In this study the authors made modifications to two different SS systems to incorporate high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to the inlets to the fan to assess their potential as a method of providing a reusable system for PPE for the surgeon with regard to protection from a respiratory droplet spread virus. The testing was carried out using particle counter upstream and downstream on a manikin wearing two different SS systems with and without modifications to the inlet. The results show that using a layer of HEPA filter cut to size, and sealed to the inlet for the fan in the helmet will reduce the downstream particulate at the user’s mouth by over 99.5% which is equivalent to that of a respirator mask. HEPA filter material is relatively cheap and can be used repeatedly making this a viable alternative to disposable, and even re-sterilized, respirator masks in the setting of a respiratory droplet spread viral pandemic.