Indiana hospitals and other organizations on the front lines of the war against COVID-19 are under a significant burden and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) is working to do its part to support their efforts. The goal is to help alleviate the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) by developing designs and mobilizing 3D printers for rapid manufacturing at partner universities: Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame. As part of this effort, the Indiana CTSI is also partnering with the local campuses of Ivy Tech Community College.
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- Image: Ivy Tech Community College
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- Image: Ivy Tech Community College
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- Image: Ivy Tech Community College
The teams are currently focused on optimizing and printing medical face shields and have already started printing PPE for distribution. As production ramps up, the coordinating teams plan to work with hospitals and other organizations to figure out what their individual needs are.
If your organization would like to get 3D-printed PPE
It is requested that all institutions needing supplies first visit EMResource, the Indiana State Department of Health’s new coordination system, to track COVID-19 supply availability. If an organization needs face shields and is interested in securing a shipment through this coordinated effort, there is a survey to fill out here to outline your current and projected needs.
While the shields will not be sterile, they will be clean, as the only human contact would be from the person removing the piece from the 3D printer. The coordinated effort is expected to be able to produce several thousand face shields each week, spread across the various printing locations.
Get involved in the 3D printing efforts
Our teams are currently developing designs for face shields, N95 masks, ventilator parts, test swabs and comfort mask straps.
If your lab or organization would like to become involved in this effort, please send a message to inppe@indianactsi.org.
