Technology has helped fill the void when it comes to making much needed personal protective equipment for front-line workers, like doctors, nurses, and other health care workers. The Antidote Robotics team has been hard at work creating a new tool that reduces the pain and strain that equipment can put on health care workers.

Technology has helped fill the void when it comes to making much needed personal protective equipment for front-line workers, like doctors, nurses, and other health care workers. But now there is a new need.

“Health care workers across the state are wearing surgical masks for prolonged periods of time which can cause pain/strain to their ears,” Aditya Chittari said to 10TV. He is a sophomore at New Albany High School and the captain of The Antidote Robotics, a team of middle and high school New Albany students dedicated to STEM.

“We have developed a 3D printable surgical mask ear strain reliever to aid our medical workers on the front lines,” says Chittari.

The idea behind the ear strain relievers came when the team received a call from a doctor in Augusta, Georgia request a specific need of relieving strain off the ears for healthcare workers who wore face masks and shield for extended periods of time.

The Antidote Robotics team quickly went to work.

“They essentially have prongs for you to be able to adjust how loose or tight you want it,” says Nishan Chittari, the team’s mentor.

“You put it at the back of your head; and it takes the strain off of your ears and redirects it to the back of your head,” he explains.

The team is now hoping to connect with other health care providers who might need this new technology to relieve stress on the ears from face masks.

Evan Garner says their equipment has the capacity to print up to 150 relievers a day.

“There's a lot of work in 3D printers for them to work accurately for the face masks to turn out well,” he explains.

Garner also says it’s the least they can do for the people risking their lives to save others.

“It means a lot to know we can help a lot of people in our community to prevent this disease from spreading even more,” Garner adds.

His teammates agree.

“We also embossed the words ‘real hero’ into every single strain reliever as a thank you for the hard work our healthcare professionals are doing every day,” says Aditya Chittari.