QJM: An International Journal of Medicine

Letter to the Editor,

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa277/5913395 by guest on 05 October 2020

A new Japanese origami-style face shield made of waterproof paper and a transparent plastic

sheet for use during the COVID-19 pandemic

Masaki Tago1, Keizo Anzai2, Shu-ichi Yamashita1

1. Department of General Medicine, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan

2. Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan

Short title: A new Japanese origami-style face shield

Corresponding author: Masaki Tago, MD, PhD,

Department of General Medicine, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan

5-1-1 Nabeshima, Saga 849-8501, Japan

Tel: +81 952 34 3238

Fax: +81 952 34 2029

E-mail: tagomas@cc.saga-u.ac.jp

Keywords: coronavirus, COVID-19, face shield, personal protective equipment

Word count: 244

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Physicians.
All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa277/5913395 by guest on 05 October 2020

https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/qjm
References: 2

Figures: 2
Tables: 0
Dear Editor,

A severe worldwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa277/5913395 by guest on 05 October 2020

19 pandemic, which has forced healthcare workers to minimize their usage 1, has led to the

development of new PPE alternatives 2.

Here we introduce a new disposable paper face shield that can be easily assembled by

Japanese origami-like folding techniques, developed in conjunction with SAGASIKI Co. Ltd., Saga,

Japan. The equipment consists of a frame made of a shield made of a thin transparent plastic sheet

(Fig. 1-A/B, 1) and a single sheet of waterproof paper with lines indicating perforations (lines in Fig.

1-A (outside), 1-B (inside), arrows), folds (dotted lines in Fig. 1-A/B, arrowheads) for assembly,

adjustable head belts having incisions (Fig. 1-A/B, 2, dotted arrows), and a fixing pad for the forehead

(Fig. 1-B, 3). Figures 1-C/D show views of the completed shield from the front and upper left,

respectively. Assembly of the face shield is simple: (1) Partly cut and detach the straps of the head

belt and fold them upwards along the diagonal dotted lines (Fig. 2-A/B); (2) Fold the fixing pad into

a three-dimensional structure (Fig. 2-C/D); (3) Adjust the length of the belt by interlocking the

incisions along the straps (Fig. 2-E).

Our new origami-style face shield could be an excellent alternative PPE, thanks to its low

cost and disposability, making it useful not only for healthcare workers but for those who have

difficulty wearing face masks or at communal facilities or educational institutions.

https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/qjm
Conflict of interest

None declared.

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa277/5913395 by guest on 05 October 2020

Acknowledgments

We thank SAGASIKI Co. Ltd, Saga, Japan (http://www.sagasiki.co.jp/) for cooperation and support

in the development of the face shield. We thank Prof. Yuichiro Sakamoto and Dr. Yohei Hamada from

Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan for support in this project. We thank Martin Cheung PhD, from

Edanz Group (https://en-author-services.edanzgroup.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript.

Funding

There is no funding for this article.

https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/qjm
Figure titles

Figure 1. Appearance of our new face shield.

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa277/5913395 by guest on 05 October 2020

Figure 2. Face shield assembly procedure.

References

1. World Health Organization. Rational use of personal protective equipment for coronavirus disease

(COVID-19) and considerations during severe shortages: interim guidance, 6 April 2020 (No.

WHO/2019-nCov/IPC_PPE_use/2020.3).

2. Senthilkumaran S, Arathisenthil SV, Meenakshisundaram R, Thirumalaikolundusubramanian P,

Chandrasekaran VP. Plastic Bag With Holes as an Alternative to Face Shield: Our Experiences. J

Emerg Med 2020, in press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2020.06.046.

https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/qjm
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa277/5913395 by guest on 05 October 2020

https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/qjm
338x190mm (300 x 300 DPI)
Fig. 1
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa277/5913395 by guest on 05 October 2020

https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/qjm
338x190mm (300 x 300 DPI)
Fig. 2