Currently we are printing face shields that
are made from a 3D printed orange part here
that you're seeing. We're also printing frames
that can hold alternative types of material
to your face. We also are making ventilator
splitters, though I really hope to not have
to use these, as well as our primary project
which is the respirator full face mask. These
are not normal conditions. A lot of what we're
doing, we would never dream of doing if it
wasn't for a global pandemic. And people have
to remember that this is a serious shot in
the dark at making a huge difference that
we would never even undertake
under a normal circumstance.
Right as the COVID crisis was
unfolding one of my nurse friends was giving
me updates. She was just every day "We don't
have any PPE. We don't have masks." I kept
hearing all these stories and so here we are
at this crossroads of do I just say I'm sorry
to hear that or do we do something? In response
to urgent calls, a network of makers and doctors
have turned to 3D printers. And this effort
has inspired a flood of new designs.
So the way the maker community works is all the projects are iterative. You start with a little seed
of an idea and then you build on it and then
someone else takes it and builds on it. I
started digging in and trying to figure out
what is the best design and how do we create
some sort of documentation that will allow
medical practitioners and people like you
and me who want to go to the grocery store
to feel at least a little bit safe with some
sort of mask that we believe is better than
a tee shirt and probably not as good as an N95.
It became abundantly clear that there
was a lot of misinformation out there like
how do you disinfect them? What filter material
to use? How do you fit them to your face?
And so my work was to build a guide protocol to answer
all those questions. But helping out is hard
when it comes to medical equipment because
you know it has to work. It's not just as
easy as printing a mask and calling it a day.
There’s so many little tests that you need
to do to make sure that you're not making
a mask that will just give you a false sense
of security and that was why I created the
protocol. Like many other makers, Kosta’s
designs are all open source. That is one of
the reasons, along with rapid prototyping
and personalization, that 3D printing has
become such a unique tool during this pandemic.
What we’re seeing now is the inclusion of
these miniature printing factories closer
to the places that need them most - hospitals.
We'll be printing a mask, a cover, putting
filters in the cover and putting straps on.
We’ll go through it from the start right now.
What you want is a piece that’s going
to fit flat right inside of this.
You could double up, but we're using one layer and gluing it in as a droplet filter.
So we’re gonna take these two and fit in
the nose slot. Push in until it clicks.
I have the same core people starting to show
up every day to make a difference even after work.
They'll work all day in ICU from 5:00 AM to 5:00 PM,
and then they'll come in and put in five hours assembling masks.
Right now we're just getting
it vetted internally and it is going to be
a hospital by hospital decision of what to
wear.
Despite all of the upsides that 3D printing offers,
for a mask to be
effective, it needs to be vetted and tested.
These DIY masks are recommended to use at
your own discretion. People assume that just
because a doctor is coming up with an idea,
that this is tested and fully approved. They
are not equivalent. I'm a doctor at work,
I'm a hobbyist and designer on the side.
I am combining them, but I am not a professional
designer. These are just the best shot at
something that's better than a scarf. Dr. Wiles and Kosta are part of a distributed
network of makers in nearly every city. Many
of their masks are addressing local needs
and, at the moment, aren’t scaled up on
a national level. Because a 3D printed mask
is a lot more complicated than it looks. There's
a lot of good that can come from those products.
It's just really the tough question of, “Can
we make them in a safe form and fashion, and
will they behave as intended? The complexity
is in a couple of factors that influence design.
So when you say N95, what that relates onto
is the efficiency that which the filter is
able to remove that particulate. The other
is, is that the device needs to conform to
the shape of your face because you need to
create a seal in order to actually promote
the air that you're breathing in to go through
the filter. You don't want it to go through
the side of the mask. America Makes is responding
to the influx of designs coming from the 3D
printing community with the NIH 3D Print Exchange
to address open questions about safety, fit,
and efficacy. Folks will put their data on there, upload their designs,
and then from there through the partnerships
that we've established, those designs are
assessed. Those partnerships include the VA
and FDA - they’ll clinically review the
designs as well as offer feedback on the regulations
surrounding medical devices. Being able to
make in some instances these fairly complex devices,
I mean that's where I think the innovation
is. It is very exciting to see the evolution
of it, to see the pace at which it occurred,
and to see that it's going for the right type
of purpose. Now that we have these designs
that have been vetted in this clinical setting,
we make the medical care provider community
aware that this catalog of devices exists.
A lot of this has been trial and error. You
create, create, create, you collaborate with
other people. Build, build, build as fast
as possible.
And then test, test, test, test again.
And try to break it. And what you end up with
is something that’s robust and that can
potentially do the job, until it can’t do
the job. And then, go back and build it again.
Being both a doctor and a maker is hard because
I am getting pulled in multiple directions. I
was just up in the ICU checking on how people
are doing, distributing some face shields.
Our actual goal here is that no one will ever
have to use these masks. These are intended
to be stockpiled at locations that fear a
total shortage, as a last resort if it ever
comes to that. It's been a wonderful opportunity
to be able to put the technology and skills
and the people that I know, put it all to
work to make something that can be helpful
to other people. That's my only goal is just
to be a little helpful.
