The market in masks is becoming ever more sophisticated and there are also voluntary efforts designing them to fit specialized needs. They include masks in the form of helmets, “visors”, which protect the eyes and have the advantage of not interfering with breathing, and of creating a real barrier in front of the whole face.
The Atoms company, based in Monaco, has temporarily dedicated itself to the assembly of these types of visors that it offers to professionals – intended primarily for the medical profession in the Principality. They are printed in 3D by a battalion of volunteers.
Atoms typically specializes in equipment for aeronautics, defense and railways, but has reoriented temporarily to help fight the virus, not for profit but out of a genuine concern for the community.
To produce the visors, a support needs to be made which is a type of headband on which the visor is attached. Using their own, borrowed and donated 3D printers the plastic support had been produced by using designs validated by the Brest University Hospital – an open source model.
A tremendous community effort is taking place, in which everyone provides the help they can. It is reported that people sometimes took their savings to buy the materials and work into the night on the the printers.
The visors are given free of charge to professionals who need them such as nurses, lift technicians, receptionists, doctors including those from hospitals in Nice and Menton.
