3d scanner printing unique ppe

talked wtih uk team

State can re-open for business...the government wants to see personal protective equipment more readily available.

We've shared stories of how desperately it's needed...how hard it is to come by...and how every day heroes are making it on their own 3-d printers.

Abc 36's christy bollinger shows us the university of kentucky is taking that to the next level...printing masks and respirators....but not on the kind of 3-d printer you'd find at home.

U-k medical professor doctor michael winkler is leading a team working hard to 3-d print medical supplies.

"we wanted to add a step.

Its one thing to just print something you could use as a movie prop it's another thing to print something that actually fits well against the face."

And that's important...the fit keeps health workers safe...and able to wear masks comfortably for long shifts...avoiding the painful marks seen in photos like this shared online.

So came the idea of 3d scanning using structural light.

Electrical engineering professor daniel lau...knew a lot about that.

"that's basically the process of using a digital projector to project stripes onto a target and using a camera to read the warping of the stripes across the target surface and being able to build a 3d model of it."

Dr. lau had access to a high-end 3-d scanner that could quickly scan a person's face.

"we've since streamlined that system so that it's 3 scanners like you stand in a booth and press a button and 5 seconds 8 seconds later you have the entire face scanned."

The team would be able to scan health care workers' faces... and design respirators fit to the individual... it wouldn't be possible without digital fabrication resources from uk's school of art and visual studies.

"this has both applied applications in the medical field and artistic applications in art so it was just a happy collaboration."

They'll also be reusable.

"what excites me about this is that it's not just a short term solution but it's a long term solution for physician safety because they can these masks once they get them made they can have them forever."

Truly protecting physicians... is something personal for dr. winkler.

His wife... is one.

"she's diagnosing covid19 pneumonia in patients.

She's had a coworker that's been infected."

The team hopes to mount the scanners to a truck that will go from hospital to hospital..

Scanning faces.

U-k will print prototypes...and sent them to a tennessee company for the final product.

"i would expect that once we scan somebody we'll have a respirator for them in a week."

Dr. winkler says printing several dozen masks quickly is at least a few weeks away.

But this video of the prototype he made for himself shows they're almost there.

"i can assure people your viewers that we're here at uk to take care of them and we're going to."

"for the next time or if the surge happens again in the fall we'll be ready in a way we weren't before."

Christy bollinger, abc 36 news.

The transformation