Summary: The rapid spread of Covid 19 is requiring a complete re-thinking of how to augment the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) toolkit.  A proposed Surrogate Contact Device (SCD) has the ability to reduce the spread of disease and strengthen the PPE toolkit by providing a safe alternative to touching one’s face and contacting environmental surfaces.

Description:  The proposed SCD is a pocket tool that can resemble a modified retractable utility knife or clip onto a smart phone case. The “blade” element is replaced with two retractable surfaces: i) a surface that interacts with the environment for pushing (doors, elevator buttons), pulling (door handles), and scribing (credit card signature pads); and ii) a surface that interacts with the face including a scratching surface to mimic fingernails, a rubbing surface to mimic the fingertip and a small hook to adjust eyeglasses and face mask.