Helps Designs — Covid Isolation Hood

Covid Isolation Hood

The Covid Isolation Hood project was initiated during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic to develop a reusable and ergonomic device that could be placed on hospital beds to safely isolate patients. The design emphasized ease of use, reusability, and enabling medical staff to perform high-risk procedures, such as intubation, with minimal exposure. As part of the IST team, I was responsible for designing all of the CAD models for all versions of the project, building initial prototypes, and contributing extensively to later iterations of the prototype in acrylic. These later stages required close collaboration with TJ Moldes due to the continued reliance on 3D-printed components in a prototyping stage.

Product informations:

Ergonomic
Reusable
Possibility of use in operations
Fits to most sizes of hospital beds
Active air cleaning System (Battery Powered)
Filter system consists of 6 Hepa filters

The Covid Isolation Hood was developed in response to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, aiming to provide a safe and practical solution for isolating patients in hospital settings. Procedures such as intubation lead to a high risk of exposure to the virus. In order to understand the user’s needs we had repeated meetings with different medical teams from 3 different hospitals in Lisbon and specialties such as sugery, pediatric care, maternity care and intensive care unit. By integrating clear visibility and flexible access points, the hood allowed medical staff to perform necessary interventions while remaining protected.

Geometry Dimensioning

To develop an ergonomic device, we worked closely with medical staff to record their movements during key procedures. Leveraging the motion tracking capabilities of Adobe After Effects, I analyzed these recordings to precisely measure the distances and angles between the user’s arms and the patient. This detailed data guided the design process, ensuring an ergonomic and functional design was achieved.

Motion tracking of arms

CAD first geometry

First geometry prototype

Prototypes

After receiving feedback from various medical teams on the geometry prototype, the design was updated to address their suggestions.

This stage introduced the first acrylic prototype, featuring ports to accommodate procedures where the patient’s arm needs to extend outside the device. At this point, it became clear that an active filtration system capable of processing all internal air and containing contaminated air was essential.

The prototype was once again thoroughly analyzed and tested by medical teams, and their feedback guided the next iteration, ensuring further refinements to meet their needs.

Filtration System

Building on earlier feedback, this iteration further refines the design. The acrylic prototype now offers easier access for medical staff and a more ergonomic layout for patient comfort. At this stage, a battery‑powered ventilation system was introduced.

The system is housed in a 3D‑printed enclosure containing a battery, a blower fan, and a PWM controller. Because it runs on battery power, the device can be used during transport — either in an ambulance or while moving through non‑COVID areas inside the hospital.

The ventilation unit maintains a continuous airflow inside the hood, pulling fresh air in and expelling filtered air. Widely available hospital‑grade HEPA filters are mounted inside the hood so that all contaminated air must pass through them. Positioning the filters elsewhere would complicate disinfection, as it could contaminate the air ducts.