XIII Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2021

At the moment, global health is in a difficult situation, which is caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. First of all, this situation is characterized by a lack of personal protective equipment (hereinafter PPE), as well as means for medical care. This article describes one of the ways to solve this problem.

Who are the "makers” and how does distributed production work?

In the process of finding a solution to this problem, which affected literally all of humanity, groups of like-minded people began to form, having their own means of additive production (3D printers). They found that some PPE can be produced in small batches and at home, without spending a large amount of material resources. Then these enthusiasts, who called themselves “makers”, began to be joined by businessmen, some politicians and professional engineers. In the conditions of self-isolation, a structured production system was formed with the supply of materials, legal support, as well as a system for accepting orders from doctors for the products of this production that they need.

Results of the work of “makers".

The result of this work was not only partial coverage of the need for doctors in PPE, but also the development of innovative ways to help patients who experience a reduced level of saturation. Such patients need vital oxygen, which is supplied through a ventilator. However, the number of such devices has become insufficient, due to the growing incidence. The way out of this situation was the so-called Venturi valves, which were used together with the centralized oxygen supply system for hospitals. The valve allowed to increase the volume of oxygen delivered to the patient per unit of time, thus allowing to redistribute ventilators to the most severe patients. Such valves were printed in large quantities by "makers" not only in Russia, but also in other countries of the world. In addition, this community developed and produced, using additive technologies, means of transporting patients and other necessary items for medical care.

The prospects.

Given the above, we can say that the use of additive technologies in medicine can solve many problems of material supply to hospitals, because such production can be placed directly in a health care facility. The cost of such production will be minimal, and all the necessary products will be delivered on time, as needed.

Sources:

https://old.sk.ru/news/b/press/archive/2019/09/18/additivnye-tehnologii-_1320_-chto-eto-takoe-i-gde-primenyayutsya.aspx

http://www.baltmed.ru/kislorodno-dyxatelnaya-terapiya/maski-aerozolnye-i-traxeostomicheskie-traxeotomicheskie/item_316/

https://rg.ru/2020/04/02/klapany-dlia-apparatov-ivl-gotovy-pechatat-na-3d-printerah.html