A Johns Hopkins team designed an Ebola suit so good, it’s going on the market

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Youseph Yazdi was surprised by the number of people who jumped in to help design better protective gear for people helping Ebola victims – everyone from freshmen to robotics experts to a wedding-dress maker.

But he was even more surprised when the solutions the team came up with at the hackathon at Johns Hopkins University attracted the notice of leading producers of protective clothing. A version of the suit they designed will be manufactured by DuPont and available early next year, the university announced Monday.

“It was a bit of a shocker,” said Yazdi, the executive director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering Innovation and Design at Hopkins, “when major companies approached us and said, ‘Wow, you came up with something new, that we’re interested in.’

“You’d think people at companies doing this all their lives,” would have better ideas, a better understanding of the situation. “But if you bring in the right experts, with bright young people who are looking at the problem for the first time, you can get amazing innovations….

“A crucial element of the innovation ecosystem is to have fresh eyes on the problem.”

Source: Washington Post (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Health Care
Tags
business development, healthcare technology, infectious diseases