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City printing ear guards to help medical professionals

ear guard

In an effort to support local medical professionals during the ongoing pandemic, City staff members are putting the Mission Viejo Library’s 3D printer to good use. 

Staff members have been using the printer to make “ear guards,” which help alleviate the discomfort and strain on ears caused by over-ear elastic masks. As reported, masks are crucial for curbing the spread of COVID-19, particularly among medical personnel. However, when you wear a mask all day, it puts pressure on the head and causes friction against the ears. City staff is working to get the ear guards into the hands of local doctors and nurses as quickly as possible. 

“This is a great way to make use of our grant-funded technology to help support our community while the library is closed,” said Genesis Hansen, Director of Library & Cultural Services.
 

Comments

Submitted by Marilyn Haehn on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 11:30 pm

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Will you be making these “ear guards” available to the public as well, in lieu of the new mask requirements for everyone? The funds that are generated could be designated to purchase more testing kits , PPE , or ventilators...whatever is needed .

Submitted by City Staff on Fri, 04/10/2020 - 10:07 am

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At this point our production capacity is not high enough to provide these for the public – we have talked to a local hospital that will likely use all we can produce. However, if that changes we will announce it via the City news outlets.

Submitted by Philippe on Sat, 04/11/2020 - 10:24 am

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If you want to print your own the Thingiverse site also has several models. Items number 4277836 and 4271279 look good. The second one has a name on it that could be edited with Sketchup or Fusion 360.

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