“I think it clearly shows an amazing driver that is unique to our species — we can inconvenience the masses in order to save the few, like the old ‘Star Trek’ explanation of humanity to Spock,” said Laura Gilmour, a biomedical engineer and a business development manager at EOS, a 3-D-printing technology and services provider. A former medical device reviewer at the F.D.A., she has been advising inventors on how to make gear that meets stringent safety standards.

Image Rasmus Barfred, a founder of TheMagic5, a high-end swimming goggles company. Credit... TheMagic5

The F.D.A. said it appreciated the flurry of innovation, though it said it would continue to evaluate unapproved devices to ensure they meet safety and performance standards. “The F.D.A. continues to take creative and flexible approaches to address access to critical medical products in response to Covid-19,” it said in a statement. During the pandemic, it added, the need for certain equipment “may outpace the supply available to health care organizations because of the high demand and overall interruptions to the global supply chain.”

Connie Steed, president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, said she welcomed the outpouring of help, especially the homemade surgical masks and plastic face shields that have fewer technical requirements. In a survey the organization released Friday, nearly half of the 1,400 infection prevention specialists who responded said they were nearly out of respirator masks and face shields, and a third said they were running low on surgical masks. “It’s wonderful to see the creativity of people thinking of ways to help health care providers take care of sick patients and also protect themselves,” she said. “The need is critical. Every minute matters.”

Some of the most promising and pragmatic ideas have come from scores of university engineering labs, many of which have been seeking guidance from the F.D.A. while consulting with local hospitals or those are affiliated with their schools.

Students at West Texas A&M University have come up with a copper antimicrobial patch that can be affixed to door knobs. Drexel University’s Center for Functional Fabrics is making thousands of high filtration masks that the United States military has agreed to test.