At the end of March, over 200 teams of dedicated and talented engineering students participated in the Johns Hopkins CBID COVID-19 Design Challenge. In one of the teams was junior bioengineering student, Logan Kocka.

The five-day challenge was open to teams across the world who had a desire to help fight against the pandemic. Kocka’s team was composed of students that she met through the Grand Challenges Scholars Program, from the U.S., Italy and U.K..

The team was one out of just seven winners from the dense pool of submissions, winning a monetary prize, as well as mentorship and support from Johns Hopkins.

Their design is called “Handless.”

The Handless website defines the design as “a foot-operated door opener that can unlatch and open any door with a lever- or knob-type handle.” This design helps to limit the spread of bacteria and viruses.

“All of us I think were driven by our desire to help mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kocka said. “We all really buckled down to try to help everyone affected.”

The team now has a provisional patent filed, and is currently working to make it stronger and more detailed. Additionally, they are conducting a pilot study with their prototype in the next week, where they will be getting user feedback.

By Jenna Calderón, CEC Reporter