In a recent turn of events, a 3D printer was used to save the lives of ten different Italian coronavirus (covid-19) patients by producing a very unique replacement valve for broken ventilators right after the supply within the hospital ran out! The infection rate in Italy has started to grow even bigger and with the use of these innovations, scientists and medical personal will be able to become more responsive to the virus as demonstrated by the current turn of events.
Chiara hospital runs out of spare ventilator parts!
Due to the recent and rapidly growing outbreak of the covid-19 which happened so sudden and so aggressively, most hospitals like Chiara hospital were unable to stock on the necessary medical equipment like valves for their ventilators which was a critical part of their progress to fight the deadly virus.
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Chiara hospital reached out to a particular Nunzia Vallini who was a known editor of the Giornale di Brescia which is a local newspaper to seek the help of a physicist and 3D printing expert known as Massimo Temporelli. This was where everything started and a new innovation was rapidly created.
The duo then started to take a 3D printer to the hospital
There was no time wasted as the duo rapidly looked for a local owner of a 3D printer which could be brought to the hospital in order to produce the much needed spare valves for all the ventilators. This was done within a matter of hours and luckily, the duo were able to find someone with a 3D printer around!
A certain Christian Fracassi who is a local business owner as well as engineer, rose to the occasion and brought his very own printer all the way to Chiara hospital within only a matter of hours! The redesigning and printing of the replacement parts for the critical intensive care machines was done very quickly and with much success.
Ten lives were saved by this act but it does not stop there
As soon as the 3D printed replacement valves were replaced, the patients were finally in better care. The ventilators were used to provide patients with the necessary oxygen when they are unable to function and breathe on their very own. This is usually the situation with several coronavirus cases.
This is one ways that prove that Italy has a strong fighting chance against the coronavirus despite the number of infected being at 24,747 and the number of deaths at 1,809. According to Marco Silvestri, an industrial engineer of the University of Parma "As you know in northern Italy the COVID-19 emergency is very serious,"
The fight against the deadly covid-19
Ever since the virus hit Italy, the amount of infected has been rising by the day and despite the lockdown, the reported number of infected are still rising at an aggressive rate. With the help of innovative technology like the 3D printing of valves for ventilation machines, there is still hope for the masses.
