Makers both Big and Small May be able to Help Hospitals Fight Coronavirus
Makers Big & Small might Help Hospitals Fight Coronavirus
To summarize how one could help: There is electronics, hardware, software & expertise needed to help with various projects designed to better protect health workers and fill the equipment & supply shortages.One collaboration developing a number of projects (some sound some experimental):
In the first 2 weeks following the launch of Helpful Engineering there were 3,400+ volunteers, around the world, working on 35+ ongoing projects!
Participants log in at: helpfulengineering.slack.com (a virtual team platform)
There's also a site for potential volunteers to sign up.
You can see a gallery of Helpful Engineering projects both new and mature.
Area that come to mind include: #discussion-ultraviolet-disinfection-system, #project-temperature-detection, #discussion-hardware-machining, #skill-software-datascience (also frontend, backend, infosec & track-social-outbreak)
Your equipment including 3D priners and sewing machine ( for those who can make gowns or masks) may help.
One simple aid to reduce PPE consumption and protect doctors is the #aerosol-box projects, a simple plexiglass box to shield doctors performing intonations, a number of designs have evolved, getting samples to hospitals for Doctor testing seems to be the bottle neck, some designers are seeking large format laser cutters to help out.. New England Journal of Medicine test.:
Other groups working in on COVID projects include some MIT heavy hitters on #FabDoesNotWait.
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Hospital worker protective masks, shields and gowns are in critically short supply, and needs are sure to increase dramatically. Front line workers side-lined by infection.
Hospital administrators have been making face shields from office, hardware and craft store supplies.
CNN: Used facemasks and bandanas: How the CDC is warning hospitals to prepare for coronavirus shortages
Apparently gowns have to be replaced after each drive-through Coronavirus test
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| CNN video snapshot |
Forbes: Calling All People Who Sew And Make: You Can Help Solve N95-Type Mask Shortage
Another mask sewing guide by Button Counter
The overwhelmed and under-equipped Providence Hospital in Oregon is seeking volunteers to sew masks, using a provided kit of medical quality materials.
Here's a 1-page PDF facemask pattern; Now go make some and help beat this thing
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| Dr. Dragnea from Antwerp University hospital wearing a Fu facemask |
Testing the Efficacy of Homemade Masks: Would They Protect in an Influenza Pandemic?
10 materials rated.
Which Masks Actually Protect Against Coronavirus?
CDC Comparison: Surgical Mask and N95 Respirator - Click for Full Info. PDF
forbes: Where’s The Fabric For Masks And Gowns?
The government needs a better mechanism for commissioning emergency supplies.
Challenge for manufacturers: produce Melt-blown Fabric machines
Home-mad masks and scarves being suggested by the CDC as one solution, probably use typical woven fabrics, which are inadequate for blocking microbes, commercial medical masks use Melt-blown Fabric for inner layers, these materials consist of 1 ～ 2 μm fibers. The manufacturing process depositing molten fibers is tricky, the article below reports a 10 fold increase in the price of this material due to a supply shortage, it suggests the specialized machines cost some $4 Million and require months to build. Can the process be scaled down to smaller systems?
Melt-blown Fabric. It's an extremely fine mesh of synthetic polymer fibers that forms the critical inner filtration layer of a mask.
Meltblown technology for production of polymeric microfibers/nanofibers - free access paper
MELT BLOWN SPINNERET Maker
A group a MIT has come up with the concept:
2000x Fab Spinning Machines (Elecrospinning)- DIY Filter Media Production on a Global Scale
Their paper on the subject is a free download.
The Defense Production Act invoked by the president on 3/18 will be used to press manufacturers into the production of medical equipment and supplies, GM and Telsla have offered to produce ventilators. Companies including 3M and Kimberly-clark are are equipped to produce Melt-blown material and should be directed to provide mask material.
Non the less, a desktop Melt-blown machine that produced 4" wide strips would be remarkable.
Perhaps laser printer paper transport mechanism could be used to move an 8 1/2" x 11" temporary carries sheet that the material is deposited on.
Reuters: World's governments draft manufacturers for virus treatment arsenal
If you want to directly contribute to volunteer mask makers, there are Chinese sellers offering Melt blown fabric, there are a number of offerings like this one, estimating 1 month delivery time.
Medical Grade 5m/20m/50m/100m ($12.20 - $103.70) BFE99 Meltblown Cloth Nonwoven Fabric
(This seller's material width spec may be in error, probably 17.5cm (6 7/8") the photo sort of resembles a bath tissue roll) 20 meters for $14.70 here.
try searching sites like aliexpress.com for " Meltblown Cloth" a number of mask offerings come up.
What it takes for non-medical companies to produce emergency medical equipment
Medical Face Mask Machine: The Complete Guide for the Medical Masks Production
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| Part of a Chinese Production Lne |
3D Printer Mask and Ventilator part designs are one stopgap shortage solution
Heed the Call - Coronavirus Crisis: 3D Printing Community Responds (Article compilation)How is the 3D printing community responding to COVID-19?
Is 3D printing a potential solution during the Coronavirus outbreak? General discussion
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| NanoHack Mask |
(Inspired by High quality N95 Masks, which block 95% of particles 0.3 microns or larger)
Using a "novel modular fine particle filtration system manufactured with a material using copper nanocomposite proven to deactivate viruses" The 3D Printer STL file is offered here
Italian Volunteers 3D-Print Unobtainable $11,000 CPAP Hood Valve For $1 To Keep Covid-19 Patients Alive Original Manufacturer Threatens To Sue (UK company denies threat)
Another article on this solution
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| Broken original Venturi valve on Left, 3D printed replaeement on Right |
3dprintingcenter: Free files for 14 Things worth 3D printing in COVID-19 pandemic
Cult32 offers some 48 Free Health Related 3D Print Designs, after you sign up.
Forbes: The Coronavirus Won’t Boost 3D Printing
Can Smart Thermometers Track the Spread of the Coronavirus?
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| HealthWeather Map 3-19-20.png |
Kinsa Health Smart Thermometer & App, are in the hands of 1 Million users, annonymous analysis of their data may be helping to predict Corona outbreaks. (they have previous results tracking Flu)
Their interacive map page is showing Florida as a hot spot of Fever patterns. Kinsa Map site
Some preliminary research notes on non-contact Fever Detection, scaling down airport screening techniques for for personal defense,
Upcoming World-wide Ventilator shortage may result in significant loss of life.
If a projected 5% (4.8 million) of the us population were hospitalized, 960,000 ventilators may be required, in those circumstances, there would be a ventilator shortage of near 800,000.(When the CA Governor imposed a state-wide stay at home order, the President was told in a letter: "We project that roughly 56 percent of our population — 25.5 million people — will be infected with the virus over an eight week period", if extreme measures are not taken.)
ABC : 'We’ll take them all': Demand for ventilators spikes as coronavirus looms
CNN: 'Desperate' shortage of ventilators puts manufacturers on wartime footing
Comprehensive report on projected equipment and bed-space requirements:
The Society of Critical Care Medicine - United States Resource Availability for COVID-19
NYtimes:
Hospitals in the United States have roughly 160,000 ventilators. There are a further 12,700
in the National Strategic Stockpile. (Some project twice the number are needed) roughly half of the intensive-care ventilators in use were made by foreign companies, (ramping up U.S. manufacturers capacity will fall short)
As demand spikes for medical equipment, this Texas manufacturer is caught in coronavirus’s supply chain panic
As demand spikes for medical equipment, this Texas manufacturer is caught in coronavirus’s supply chain panic
Italy's highly rated medical system has been overwhelmed, reaching a point where Triage decides which patient is saved.
Ventilator makers scramble to meet demand.
Ventilator makers scramble to meet demand.
Desperate measure: support 2 to 4 patients from a single ventilator.
Details: PulmCrit: – Splitting ventilators to provide titrated support to a large group of patients
Similar to measures taken to deal with the effects of Polio in the 1950s, group iron lungs.
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| Boston Children's Hospital archive photos |
Ultimate Medical Hackathon:
How Fast Can We Design And Deploy An Open Source Ventilator?
Design a medical ventilator: win $200,000 (Canadian dollars) The Challenge Mar. 31 deadline
nyNYmag: Elon Musk Can’t Solve This
"There's only a handful of people in the world who know how to design a ventilator"
A “just better than manual” ventilator may have to be good enough. To meet special circumstance regulations.
Volkswagen explores using 3D printers to produce ventilators
GM collaborates with Ventec on ventilator production for coronavirus patients
There are no details on production volume and scheduling, other than mention of Ventec's $60 Million funding and 111 employees. (Rare look at the internals)
Press Release: Joint Statement on Collaboration to Increase Ventilator Production
AM: Ventilator Manufacturing: Challenges and Likely Response During Coronavirus Crisis
Reference Designs? Modern minimal designs examples can be found in portable emergency ventilators, for use in "Mass Casualty Emergency Situations" (like a plague?) most basic models (EPV100) are offered at a discount price of $495.
Respiratory Care Journal: Bench Tests of Simple, Handy Ventilators for Pandemics: Performance, Autonomy, and Ergonomy 2011
We believe that the reliability, portability, and ease of use of these disaster ventilators makes them valuable for mass-casualty events.
Should a Portable Ventilator Be Used in All In-Hospital Transports? PDF
Manual Ventilation Is Neither Safe nor Effective
--------Some Maker Efforts --------
(I can imagine people in 3rd world countries having to resort to some manually cranked bellows ventilator to keep one's loved one alive)
Hand squeezed emergency ventilator powered by air plunger?
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| Gtech, which specialists in making home and garden appliances, has designed a medical ventilator to be used in hospitals in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. © PA |
MIT; Design and Prototyping of a Low-cost Portable Mechanical Ventilator - Paper 2010
A working prototype that can be operated on a test lung has been developed.
Using Simple Motororized BVM bag squeezer.
MIT Article: In the World: Breath of life - Low-cost portable ventilator - 2010
This article tells the heroic story family keeping a man alive for 18 days with a hand squeezed ventilator bag.
It also cites a 2005 government study finding that in a worst-case pandemic scenario, this country alone might need more than 700,000 mechanical ventilators. We now have leaders saying: nobody had imagine such an event.
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| Second MIT Ventilator Prototype |
A Spanish version of the Ventilator Bag Squeezer
UK: Call for businesses to help make NHS ventilators
UK government sends ventilator blueprints to major manufacturers
“basic, functional ventilator” that can be made cheaply using available components.
UK Gov Guidance: Rapidly manufactured ventilator system specification
Fairly sophisticated specs...Min. reliability: 100% duty cycle for up to 14 days.
A doctor’s coronavirus challenge: reimagine the ventilator
A rather primitive non-invasive Ventilator, that does involve an Arduino
Open Source Ventilator (OSV) Ireland (in development)
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| First sample image from OSV |
------ A look at ventilator designs of days past ------
History of Mechanical Ventilation. From Vesalius to Ventilator-induced Lung Injury
The Mechanical Ventilator: Past, Present, and Future
Early ICU Ventilators
Perhaps volunteer technicians could revive mothballed ventilators for short term cases, these pictured ventilators are from the 1960s and 1970s (Retired medical personal are being recruited, perhaps they can operate older gear)
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Introduction to Mechanical Ventilators, (KhanAcademy Style)
3D printed Isolation wards
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