Makers against Covid-19

The health emergency that hit the world and rapid response of the maker community demonstrated how tackling complex problems requires everyone's contribution. Co-designing and validating solutions with doctors in the field was crucial, because every hospital has its own equipment and therapies. There are no universal solutions, they are specific for each need.

Since its foundation, one of OpenDot's main areas of research and experimentation has been healthcare. Since 2015, we have been experimenting with design and technology to innovate the world of health and care by creating bespoke aids, software development, and mutual training with doctors and therapists. This needs co-designing, i.e., participatory design involving people with different skills around the same table: makers, therapists, designers, care-givers and care-receivers.

By embracing the sharing and open-source philosophy, through the Careables.org platform, created in partnership with seven other European partners including university departments, design studios and foundations, we collect solutions, aids, useful stories and information to cope with the spread of Covid-19. An ad hoc section of the online platform shows the contribution of the maker community, documenting projects, providing support to those who want to replicate or implement them, and raising awareness on the responsible use of DIY products.

Meanwhile, Fab Lab 3D printers are operating. OpenDot is supporting various hospitals, with which it has worked. We supplied the Desio Hospital with face shields for intensive care and the Melegnano Hospital (Milan South) with a revised version of the Decathlon’s Charlotte valve.

The Isinnova's team of designers and engineers released the open-source project. This allows design optimisation to reduce printing times - a little “hacking” speeds up mass production. Industrial production of the Charlotte adapter, the safest and fastest method today, has finally begun, but distributed production is still a viable alternative for testing the system in hospitals, modifying the parts to suit different situations and receiving the first emergency parts quickly.

A significant example of the power of open source and distributed digital fabrication is the Intubation Box: a project created in Taiwan and tested at MIT in Boston, which we redesigned for laser cutting and delivered to intensive care wards for testing in the Desio and Melegnano hospitals.

Producing and distributing locally and widely (one of the Fab City concepts) reduces shipments and shortens waiting lists.

Another critical issue is the scarcity of PPE for doctors and healthcare workers. By developing more comfortable solution that can be reused and sterilised, the risk of running out of masks can be drastically reduced. We are involved in the development of several 3D printable mask designs with the Varese-based company Elmec, Thinking Additive (led by Marco Cavallaro), and GV Filtri. A first version of the mask produced is already used at the Niguarda Hospital in Milan.

Producing these objects does not replace certified industrial production, but the contribution of makers during emergencies speeds up processes, co-creating, modifying, producing or replicating, until the most effective solution is achieved.

This has prompted several sector companies in gathering support from the community, to make themselves available to disseminate and produce solutions. Make in Italy made itself available to take on this role, and OpenDot is cooperating. It is positive that many different companies joined to tackle such an unprecedented situation. In an ordinary situation this would not happen.