Makers, Technology and Healthcare Professionals Partner to Proactively Address COVID-19 Face Shield Needs
Posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2020
Hacking Health Ottawa has teamed up with CHEO, The Algonquin College MakerSpace, Thistledown Foundation and University of Ottawa medical students to lead the 3D print Maker community in the coordination and the rapid development of protective face shields.
In light of expected COVID-19 related shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), Maker groups, technology and medical professionals in the National Capital region are collaborating to proactively source materials and develop much needed PPE with a current focus on face shields in particular.
The initiative was driven by calls for support from the City of Ottawa and local hospitals to source PPE equipment.
Hacking Health Ottawa has always taken a dynamic approach to driving innovation here in the city by leveraging relationships across hospitals, the private sector and academia.
“We were in a unique position to help when on the one hand we received emails from healthcare providers asking for PPE support and on the other our network of problem solvers asking how they could help. It was clear that we needed to make a unified call to action to help healthcare workers on the frontline. We all got on a call together to streamline efforts to address needs as one community,” said Haidee Thanda, Founder, Hacking Health Ottawa.
The CHEO team has been critical in driving this initiative, because our community doesn’t want to create face shields that aren’t useful. Balancing safety and front-line needs, CHEO’s clinical infection protection and control experts quickly tested and approved the face shields design that our community is now printing.
“CHEO is committed to ensuring our patients, family, staff and physicians are safe. This includes having the PPE they need, when they need it. This face-shield project builds on the strong ties we have developed over the past three years with Hacking Health Ottawa and the region’s technology sector. It is fantastic to see how this community has come together out of their concern for the safety of everyone at CHEO,” said Mari Teitelbaum, Vice-president of Quality and Strategy, and Chief Innovation Officer.
The Algonquin College Makerspace jumped in to develop a user guide, created prototypes for testing at hospitals and have output 221 headpieces in their first week of production. Medical students from the University of Ottawa have stepped in to pick up 3D prints and drop off supplies. To date, a total of 3,332 headpieces have been produced by this community initiative. Other partners have been instrumental in mapping out the process of how to scale efforts to make face shields, by connecting with suppliers and other organizations that are further along. Local industry partners have started to contribute, however the need for supplies is great.
“The Algonquin College MakerSpace has always had a strong focus on community building and social impact,” said Claude Brulé, President and CEO of Algonquin College. “Our team did not hesitate when presented with an opportunity to employ its unique knowledge and equipment to address the need for personal protective equipment in our community. MakerSpace staff and volunteers saw it as their responsibility to help support the heroes on the frontlines.”
The team is putting out a call across the National Capital Region for additional support in terms of:
- Experienced makers with 3D printers
- Donations for supplies such as filament, and acetate to develop face shields for frontline healthcare workers. Donations can be made directly to the CHEO Foundation.
Best practices and how-to guides for approved 3D printer designs can be accessed via: https://ottawamakesppe.com
###
About Algonquin College: MakerSpace
From concept to completion, the MakerSpace is a place where arts and technology collide. The space offers a variety of equipment – including 3D printers, VR stations, a laser cutter/ engraver and more – Fostering hands-on learning for makers of all kinds from the National Capital Region.
Hosting workshops on creativity or technical skills to being communal working space, this is a place that encourages discovery, exploration and the free sharing of ideas.
Twitter @AlgonquinARIE https://twitter.com/AlgonquinARIE
Instagram – @acresearch https://www.instagram.com/acresearch/
Media Contacts:
Ruth Dunley
Communications Manager
Algonquin College
Office: 613-727-4723 ext. 6452
Mobile: 613-406-0970
dunleyr@algonquincollege.com
Chris Lackner
Communications Officer
Algonquin College
Office: 613-727-4723 ext. 2091
lacknec@algonquincollege.com
About Hacking Health Ottawa
Hacking Health Ottawa is part of a global organization called Hacking Health. HACKING HEALTH is an international non-for-profit organization founded in Montreal, with a goal to increase innovation in healthcare with a collaborative bottom-up approach by placing physicians and healthcare professionals at the center of the innovation process. We create an environment for health professionals, technologists, designers and entrepreneurs to work together to solve tangible frontline healthcare problems with creative solutions.
Twitter – @HHOttawa https://twitter.com/HHOttawa
Instagram – @HHOttawa https://www.instagram.com/hhottawa/
Media Contact:
Anika Reza
Hacking Health Ottawa
1-613-276-7392
- Posted in
- News