The company is deploying 3D printing technology to tackle COVID-19
Stratasys has been working closely with various organisations to help tackle the COVID pandemic that is being faced by India and the rest of the world.
The company has been deploying 3D printing technology to address the various needs of healthcare providers from face shields, ventilator components, face masks etc., which are being distributed amongst healthcare providers. The key announcements being:
Partnership with NITK, Surathkal:
- Stratasys is working closely with the Team at NITK to produce 3D printed ventilator components, N95 mask filters and face shields.
- Prof KV Gangadharan and Dr Pruthviraj U, Centre for System Design (CSD) at National Institute of Technology Karnataka, (NITK) Surathkal have been focussing their time and efforts to double the capacity of ventilator availability through 3D printed components for circuit splitters and flow regulators for devices for multiple patient lung ventilation.
- Stratasys provided two industry grade 3D printers capable of working 24×7 and consumables for this purpose for three months to Rudramani, Vice President and Centre Head, Dell EMC, Bengaluru Design Centre and NITK and team.
- Free distributions have already begun at a local level. We have distributed around 300 face shields locally in Mangalore which are being used by police personnel, health volunteers, MRPL staff, etc.
- Splitters for ventilators are sent for testing across 20 different hospitals in India.
GNA University:
- Stratasys, in association with GNA University and DesignTech initiative, teamed together to develop and test 3D printable face shields.
- The face shields were designed, developed and created by CR Tripathy, Dean, Faculty of Engineering Design & Automation using Stratasys printers and Rapid Prototyping Technology under the leadership of S Gurdeep Singh Sihra CEO GNA Gears & Pro Chancellor GNA University.
- This shield can be removed and replaced within seconds and can be used by doctors, healthcare workers and medical professionals while treating COVID-19 positive patients.
- This can be also used by the security persons, housekeeping staff, defence persons, drivers of the ambulances and office staff which are in contact with the people to protect them against COVID-19. The team is working on developing more face shields and an injection mold to be able to mass-produce face shields and keep up with the demand.
CSIO-CSIR Chandigarh:
- Stratasys aided the team with its industrial grade FDM machines to create easy to fabricate face shields.
- The prototypes have been distributed among doctors and other medical professionals for testing.
- The design uses easily available raw materials for production in volumes with minimum investment in materials and machines.
Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Stratasys India and SEA said, “In the recent past, 3D printing has helped uncover new innovations in the healthcare industry and truly emerged as a driving force transforming the sector. Continuing on our commitment to use great technology for the greater good, Stratasys is happy to partner with such prestigious organisations to deliver face shields, PPEs and other critical medical components needed to tackle the current COVID crisis. Partnering with NITK, GNA University and CSIR-CSIO has helped us save hundreds of lives, especially the people front lining this crisis in the healthcare sector. We look forward to working with our partners and doing our bit to help the world come out of this crisis at the earliest.”