3D printing could fill medical equipment gaps, Calgary company says
A Calgary 3D printing firm is volunteering its resources to help address potential medical equipment shortages as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads in Alberta.
Colin Pischke, president of Print Your Mind 3D, says his company could produce medical items including antimicrobial masks and valves for ventilators if there is demand from Alberta Health Services.
“There’s a lot of potential for something like this to have a huge impact when we’re in a crisis like this. I just want to get the word out there and let everybody know that our capacity is available to help the health-care system,” Pischke said. “There could be a need. We just don’t know about it yet.”
The initiative is part of a wider global initiative by Ultimaker, a United States 3D printer manufacturing company that is now encouraging those with access to 3D printers to offer their resources to local health-care systems.
Some jurisdictions across the world, including in Italy and Spain, have solicited items made from 3D printers for front-line use.
While there are some questions about the quality of items produced on 3D printers compared to dedicated factories, Pischke says the case of ventilator valves being accepted for use in Italian hospitals is proof that the concept works.
“There are health services around the world that are very much accepting these,” he said. “(In Italy,) it was able to serve the purpose intended, though. In that case, it was literally saving lives.”
In a statement, AHS officials said they appreciate companies stepping up to offer resources in response to COVID-19, but didn’t say whether they would consider the use of community-made medical items.
They added that a new program called the Alberta Emergency Management Agency Unsolicited Offers Program has been set up in response to offers of donations to AHS amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
According to Pischke, 3D printers can produce many objects quickly and at a cost significantly below market price. For example, a valve for a ventilator may cost $11,000 when purchased from a manufacturer, but Pischke could produce one for about $2.
As well, Pischke says that making disposable face shields to be worn by front-line hospital staff would take three hours. With his 10 printers, he says he could make 80 face shields a day.
Pischke estimates there are up to 500 printers in Calgary alone, adding that “every three hours each one of these could be printing potentially life-saving devices.”
Both AHS and the Alberta government have said they project they will not run out of medical supplies as the COVID-19 outbreak progresses.
“We were briefed by AHS and they believe we have an adequate number of ventilators to cope with the anticipated peak of the infections,” Premier Jason Kenney said Wednesday.
“We’ve been very well prepared for an event of this nature with a very large stockpile of equipment, including PPE (personal protective equipment), including face masks for medical professionals.”