Snack, scratch in safety with Vietnamese COVID-19 helmet

OUT OF THE BOX Student Do Trong Minh Duc, 16, wears the prototype helmet Vihelm, which he designed to protect doctors and nurses from coronavirus infection in Hanoi, Vietnam. —REUTERS

HANOI — Three Vietnamese school students have designed a helmet that allows front-line health workers to have a snack, or even scratch their nose without exposing themselves to the risks of coronavirus infection.

The pandemic has thrown a spotlight on the trade-off at times between the comfort and safety of protective personal equipment (PPE), especially for workers who are required to suit up in such outfits for hours on end.

To solve this problem, students were set a challenge to design a helmet connected to a respirator that not only protects but allows front-line workers to remain productive longer.

The group came up with the “Vihelm,” a portmanteau of Vietnam and helmet. It has a glove box access so a wearer can fit their hand inside and, for example, wipe sweat off their face or clean a visor while keeping the helmet sealed.

“A big difference with this helmet is the glove box … You can use it to interact with your face safely,” said Tran Nguyen Khanh An, 14, one of the students who won a best invention design award at the International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada last month for their design.

The futuristic-looking helmet also has an internal compartment that can hold a snack for a front-line worker and is attached by a tube to a powered air-purifying respirator to exclude contaminated air.

While such respirators are considered significantly safer than standard masks, they can be far more uncomfortable than other forms of PPE.

The Vihelm, which currently costs under $300 to make, even has pockets around the head area that allow users to give the area a scratch if the device starts rubbing in the area.

Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, said in a statement that the company had evaluated the helmet and offered technical feedback on its design. Vingroup has been producing ventilators throughout the pandemic.