Coronavirus Patient's Life Saved by 3D Printed Valves in Italy

While the Novel Coronavirus grips Italian republic in quarantine, the number of patients in the country continues to ascension. According to a recent report, the expiry toll in Italian republic has risen to over 2500. The land is struggling to provide medical assistance to the patients. In a similar situation last week, a hospital in the land ran out of a valve that is needed for the breathing equipment to work. When the company that manufactures the valve could not provide it, a human used a 3D printer to build the aforementioned to save the patients' lives.

Since last Thursday, a hospital in Brescia, in the north of the country could not support its patients as at that place were no valves to back up the resuscitators – a tool to help patients breath. The visitor that manufactures the valves could non provide the valves as they were out of stock. And these valves are pretty expensive.

valvole-1 — Original Valve | Prototype: Business Insider (Italy)

Now, to save the patients suffering from the deadly disease, Massimo Temporelli, a physicist and a scientific specialist stepped up. Temporelli previously collaborated with an editor of a local newspaper, Nunzia Vallini for a program in schools. This programme involved the use of 3D printers. And so, the idea of printing the valve using a 3D printer was a viable option.

Now, to get the hands-on a 3D printer, Temporelli called a young materials engineer, Cristian Fracassi, who possessed the required motorcar. When Fracassi brought in the printer, the team got in bear on with the original manufacturer to ask them for the 3D model of the piece. Yet, instead of sending the model the manufacturer threatened Fracassi for patent infringement. But this did not end the engineer to create the valve as many lives were at pale. Fracassi created a 3D model of the valve from scratch using the dimensions, measurements and the design of the piece. He reportedly used three different techniques – FDM, SLS and SLA, to create the model. And in only half-dozen hours, the physical pieces were fix to utilise. And these valves only cost roughly $1 whereas the original valves price near $11,000 (that are still out of stock)!

This was more than similar a scientific discipline fiction phenomenon for the patients suffering from COVID-19. Even so, the protagonists were Temporelli and Fracassi, who did non give up even when the odds were against them. At present the fact that the original manufacturers denied providing the 3D model was unjust. However, to threaten someone who is selflessly trying to salvage lives in these hard times was just inhuman.