Supercars team makes Coronavirus medical supplies

While other automotive companies offer their services to government to fight the Coronavirus, Supercars team Erebus Motorsport has gone the next step and started manufacturing potentially life-saving medical supplies.

The Melbourne-based team, owned by shopping centre mogul Betty Klimenko, is now using its 3D manufacturing capability to produce adaptors for full face masks and protective perspex boxes to shield health care workers from infected patients.

A first run of 300 ‘e-masks’ is nearing completion, while the ‘e-Aerosol Box’ is being trialled at two Melbourne hospitals. The plan is to offer both products to hospital emergency departments nationwide.

Up to 20 of the perspex boxes could be made per day by Erebus’ supplier. But the plan is to spread the design to other Supercars teams to boost production.

“I have sent an email to all the team owners and they have started replying with what they can do,” said Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan. “I am sure our network of Supercars team and their sponsors can help.”

A number of other automotive companies including Ford, HSV and Premcar have confirmed their offers of engineering, design and manufacturing support to government, while Toyota is also investigating what it can do.

Erebus – which field Penrite-backed Holden Commodore ZBs in the Supercars championship for David Reynolds and Anton De Pasquale – has spare design, engineering and manufacturing capacity at the moment because the Supercars season has been postponed until at least June because of the Coronavirus.

The idea to design and manufacture medical equipment came from team engineer Mirko De Rosa, whose parents are in lockdown in Coronavrus-ravaged northern Italy.

Erebus then worked with Supercars medical delegate Dr Carl Le to develop the designs. The mask is based on an underwater snorkelling mask, while the original idea for the aerosol box emerged in Taiwan.

“These are not commercial ventures,” stressed Dr Le.

“We stand to gain nothing from this, quite the opposite. We are investing our time and money. Thank you Betty Klimenko as well for funding this in its preliminary stage.”

Added Ryan: “It’s a challenging time and all Australians need to do all they can to help.

“We are in a fortunate position where we have the ability to make this shift in our operations and help our health care workers and patients.

“Rather than developing something complicated, these cost-effective masks with a 3D printed adaptor and easily replaceable P2/N95 filtration, can be mass produced and go straight away to health care workers on the front line – who are at high risk.”

The aerosol box, a transparent plastic box with an opening on one side, can fit over the patient’s chest and neck, while the opposite side has two holes through which doctors can insert their hands, plus an additional smaller hole for connecting suction to the box.

“One of the riskiest times for a health care worker is when a patient is particularly unwell and needs to be intubated,” Dr Le said.

“Because these workers must be in very close proximity to the patient, this box can provide an additional physical barrier.

“Every emergency department or ICU has wall suction, so we modified the box, which can vacuum potential droplets away from the area.”

Dr Le and Erebus Motorsport are also now looking for a solution for two-way communications in and out of isolation rooms.