Hero In Italy Saves Coronavirus Patients' Lives After Bringing In His 3D Printer To Make More ICU Valves When a Hospital Ran Out
She explained that the hospital in Brescia (near one of the hardest-hit regions for coronavirus infections) urgently needed valves (in the photo) for an intensive care device and that the supplier could not provide them in a short time. Running out of the valves would have been dramatic and some people might have lost their lives. So she asked if it would be possible to 3D print them
After several phone calls to fablabs and companies in Milan and Brescia and then, fortunately, a company in the area, Isinnova, responded to this call for help through its Founder & CEO Cristian Fracassi, who brought a 3D printer directly to the hospital and, in just a few hours, redesigned and then produced the missing piece.
On the evening of Saturday 14th (the next day) Massimo reported that “the system works”. At the time of writing, 10 patients are accompanied in breathing by a machine that uses a 3D printed valve. As the virus inevitably continues to spread worldwide and breaks supply chains, 3D printers – through people’s ingenuity and design abilities – can definitely lend a helping hand. Or valve, or protective gear, or masks, or anything you will need and can’t get from your usual supplier.
As we all know by now, Italy is in really bad shape as coronavirus ravages the country. They have too many coronavirus patients for their hospitals and are running out of beds and supplies. A hospital in Brescia had no more ICU valves for an intensive care device. Some of the really bad cases of corona require patients to have oxygen pumped into their lungs so they can stay alive longer and fight the virus. Without these valves they wouldn't be able to use those devices. When the hospital ran out of the valves a hero named Cristian Fracasssi, who is the CEO of a 3D printing company, brought in his 3D printer and produced all the valves they needed in just hours. Right now 10 patients are using the valves and might have had their lives saved. That's so fucking awesome.
3D printers blow my mind. I have absolutely no idea how they work. For all I know you just type in an idea and it makes it front of you. You type in a TV and poof out comes a TV. You type in a breathing valve and out it comes. I mean we're talking some insane 2020 technology here. This guy Cristian Fracassi is Italy's Bruce Wayne as far as I'm concerned. Unbelievable stuff here.
Let's keep this kind of energy going across the world and use the brilliant minds out there like Fracassi to help combat this motherfucker of a virus. Let's make some masks, some valves, anything we need for hospitals. Everyone grab your 3D printer and get that shit to a hospital.
Now if Fracassi and this guy team up we're really going to be cooking with gas over in Italy.
P.S. Can you use a 3D printer to pump out some more toilet paper? Asking for a friend.