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Leveraging 3D Printing Capacity in Times of Crisis: Recommendations for COVID-19 Distributed Manufacturing for Medical Equipment Rapid Response

Author

Listed:
  • Albert Manero

    (Limbitless Solutions, University of Central Florida, 4217 E Plaza Drive, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

  • Peter Smith

    (Limbitless Solutions, University of Central Florida, 4217 E Plaza Drive, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

  • Amanda Koontz

    (Department of Sociology, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

  • Matt Dombrowski

    (Limbitless Solutions, University of Central Florida, 4217 E Plaza Drive, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

  • John Sparkman

    (Limbitless Solutions, University of Central Florida, 4217 E Plaza Drive, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

  • Dominique Courbin

    (Limbitless Solutions, University of Central Florida, 4217 E Plaza Drive, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

  • Albert Chi

    (Division of Trauma, Critical Care & Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, Portland, OR 97239, USA)

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has provided a unique set of global supply chain limitations with an exponentially growing surge of patients requiring care. The needs for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for hospital staff and doctors have been overwhelming, even just to rule out patients not infected. High demand for traditionally manufactured devices, challenged by global demand and limited production, has resulted in a call for additive manufactured (3D printed) equipment to fill the gap between traditional manufacturing cycles. This method has the unique ability to pivot in real time, while traditional manufacturing may take months to change production runs. 3D printing has been used to produce a variety of equipment for hospitals including face shields, masks, and even ventilator components to handle the surge. This type of rapid, crowd sourced, design and production resulted in new challenges for regulation, liability, and distribution. This manuscript reviews these challenges and successes of additive manufacturing and provides a forward plan for hospitals to consider for future surge events. Recommendations: To accommodate future surges, hospitals and municipalities should develop capacity for short-run custom production, enabling them to validate new designs. This will rapidly increase access to vetted equipment and critical network sharing with community distributed manufacturers and partners. Clear guidance and reviewed design repositories by regulatory authorities will streamline efforts to combat future pandemic waives or other surge events.

Suggested Citation

  • Albert Manero & Peter Smith & Amanda Koontz & Matt Dombrowski & John Sparkman & Dominique Courbin & Albert Chi, 2020. "Leveraging 3D Printing Capacity in Times of Crisis: Recommendations for COVID-19 Distributed Manufacturing for Medical Equipment Rapid Response," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4634-:d:377129
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Albert Manero & Peter Smith & John Sparkman & Matt Dombrowski & Dominique Courbin & Anna Kester & Isaac Womack & Albert Chi, 2019. "Implementation of 3D Printing Technology in the Field of Prosthetics: Past, Present, and Future," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, 2020. "Digital Technologies-Enabled Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 in the Post-COVID-19 Era: Lessons Learnt from a Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-2, July.
    2. Po-Sheng Ko & Jen-Yao Lee, 2021. "Analysis of Taiwan’s Mask Collection and Plan Evasion during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Nishant Saravanan & Jessica Olivares-Aguila & Alejandro Vital-Soto, 2022. "Bibliometric and Text Analytics Approaches to Review COVID-19 Impacts on Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-33, November.
    4. Nylund, Petra A. & Amores-Bravo, Xavier & Ferràs-Hernández, Xavier & Brem, Alexander, 2023. "Crisis as a catalyst of idle innovation ecosystems: Evidence from ecosystem exaptation of a water partnership," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).

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