SafeClean Prototype for Sterilizing Personal Protective Equipment

The world is suffering from a new coronavirus-type pathogen, namely COVID-19. Health professionals are obliged to protect themselves with personal protective equipment (PPE); however, we encountered some problems: most of this equipment is not self-cleaning. How do you protect professionals from contaminated personal protective equipment? How do you dispose of used personal protective equipment? For the construction of this equipment, the authors used the methodology of define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC). The developed prototype was applied in a primary care sector clinic, where the pre-test (swab sampling procedure) was performed to identify cross-contamination of the environment. The cost of the prototype developed was low in relation to existing market options. The tests carried out allowed the authors to observe its effectiveness in the sterilization of equipment. However, new, more complex tests are still needed to better validate the prototype and to study its economic viability as a product.