Project Pitlane: How Formula One Engineers Are Developing New Technology for Hospitals
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many manufacturers around the world to shift their production focuses. Anyone with the resources to develop and produce pandemic aids—most notably personal protective equipment (PPE)—has done so without hesitation. One initiative centred around this push that has ties to the racing world is Project Pitlane.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Formula One launched Project Pitlane in an effort to support key health services during what has been an unprecedented time. Created in March of 2020, the initiative encourages Formula One teams and their engineers to put their resources together to provide supplies and solutions in the fight against COVID-19. One invention that’s come about thanks to this project has been a new device that helps doctors and nurses communicate while they are wearing PPE.
It has become common practice for any and all medical staff who are treating COVID-19 patients to wear PPE, but a challenge that many have faced is that communication can often be difficult. Due to the abundance of equipment needed to adequately cover the face, speaking clearly to each other has proven difficult in a medical setting, thus increasing the risk of miscommunication that could lead to mistakes that harm patients.
To remedy this issue, a new device has been developed by staff at the University of Leicester in tandem with Formula One racing engineers with the Alpine F1 Team. This device, dubbed the MedicCom, uses a microphone that allows patients to hear the medical staff caring for them when they speak. The device also helps doctors and nurses hear each other despite wearing their protective headgear. A Bluetooth connection even allows doctors or nurses to have telephone calls with relatives of the patients they are caring for.
Other Formula One teams have stepped up in the fight against COVID-19 in different ways, such as opening up their factories to help with the production of breathing apparatuses for hospitals. Of these teams, Mercedes has used its engine factory to make 1,000 CPAP devices per day for the NHS. Williams Racing has also leaned in, with their engineers helping to create prototype parts for new ventilators with assistance from other racing teams and organizations such as McLaren, Rolls-Royce, Airbus, and BAE Systems.
In such a trying time, it’s been inspiring to see sporting rivals set competition aside for the greater good. By pooling their resources, ingenuity, and technical expertise, they’re not only tackling a global medical crisis, but they’re also supporting broader efforts that could have a lasting impact in the healthcare sector for years to come. If you ask me, that’s as important a legacy any sport can hope to leave behind in this world.