
MTC shield reduces exposure for NHS frontline
- June 1, 2020
- 2 minute read
Engineers at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) have developed a fast-make protective shield for NHS staff involved in the intubation procedure for Covid-19 patients. The shields, developed in collaboration with medical experts and industrial partners Rolls-Royce Plc., Aston Martin and Multimatic, with wider support from Innovate UK, have been developed from prototype to manufacture in less than a week.
The MTC and partners are producing the first batch of 1,000 units and simultaneously working with the manufacturing supply chain to ramp up immediate capacity to at least 200 units a day to meet expected NHS demand.
MTC chief executive Dr Clive Hickman said: “The acrylic shields with access panels for medical staff are manufactured as complete units or can be produced as flat-pack self-assembly kits. The shield has undergone several design changes during its rapid development following trials in three hospitals and extended trials at a further seven hospitals. Feedback from medical professionals suggests that the shields can be used during the intubation and extubation processes; and may also be useful for other medical procedures beyond Covid-19.”
A technical pack for the flat-pack intubation shield and a video demonstrating the use of the shield are available via the MTC web site here: http://www.the-mtc.org/news-items/intubation-shield-supporting-our-frontline-nhs-workers.
Further open-source technical packs including drawings and assembly instructions have been published by the MTC to give other manufacturers access to the designs.

MTC shield reduces exposure for NHS frontline
Engineers at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) have developed a fast-make protective shield for NHS staff involved in the intubation procedure for Covid-19 patients. The shields, developed in collaboration with medical experts and industrial partners Rolls-Royce Plc., Aston Martin and Multimatic, with wider support from Innovate UK, have been developed from prototype to manufacture in less than a week.
The MTC and partners are producing the first batch of 1,000 units and simultaneously working with the manufacturing supply chain to ramp up immediate capacity to at least 200 units a day to meet expected NHS demand.
MTC chief executive Dr Clive Hickman said: “The acrylic shields with access panels for medical staff are manufactured as complete units or can be produced as flat-pack self-assembly kits. The shield has undergone several design changes during its rapid development following trials in three hospitals and extended trials at a further seven hospitals. Feedback from medical professionals suggests that the shields can be used during the intubation and extubation processes; and may also be useful for other medical procedures beyond Covid-19.”
A technical pack for the flat-pack intubation shield and a video demonstrating the use of the shield are available via the MTC web site here: http://www.the-mtc.org/news-items/intubation-shield-supporting-our-frontline-nhs-workers.
Further open-source technical packs including drawings and assembly instructions have been published by the MTC to give other manufacturers access to the designs.