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3D Printed Origami Tube for Low-cost Ventilators 

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3D Printed Origami Tube for Low-cost Ventilators 

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Purity Mburu
The University of Texas at Tyler
NURS 5324:Health Care Informatics
Jerri Post, PhD, RN

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20th September 2021

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Hastings, C. (20th September 2021). 3D Printed  Origami Tube for Low-cost Ventilators. Med Gadget.
https://www.medgadget.com/2021/09/3d-printed-origami-tube-for-low-cost-ventilators.html

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Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada have developed a low-cost portable ventilator that uses a 3D-printed origami tube rather than a conventional airbag. The volume of the tube can be modified by changing the angles in the origami folding plates. As up to 95% of the components of the ventilator are 3D printable, the device can be created for approximately $200, compared with approximately $2000 for existing portable ventilators.

Ventilators have been a key tool during the COVID-19 pandemic, and shortages have inspired a variety of makeshift and innovative devices that have helped to save lives. While the worst effects of COVID-19 have been blunted by successful vaccination campaigns in many countries, millions of people do not yet have access to the vaccines, and the virus continues causing problems.

In many developing nations, lack of access to vaccines, healthcare facilities, and equipment could make the difference between life and death during the pandemic. There is an ongoing need for low-cost and portable medical equipment to treat COVID-19 patients in such regions, particularly in rural and remote locations.

While this latest technology is designed to be low-cost, it is far from makeshift, employing 3D printing and a unique origami design to create a small and portable ventilator. In the place of a simple bag, the ventilator includes a 3D printed origami tube in which origami folding plates interlock to form a tube that is smaller and stronger than the equivalent component in a conventional ventilator.

During operation, the tube is contracted to assist in breathing. As with so many devices intended for low-resource use, 3D printing was the key to the low cost of the technology. "In our portable origami ventilator, more than 95 per cent of components can be 3D printable, that's why it is really cost-efficient," said Woo Soo Kim, one of the developers of the new technology, in a press releas. "Other portable ventilators can cost over $2,000, but our 3D-printed ventilator can be produced for about $200."

The researchers hope that the technology could assist in low-resource or remote regions, where healthcare resources are scarce. They have partnered with a ventilator manufacturer with a view to scaling up production of the devices.

Study in Flexible and Printed Electronics: 3D architectured air sensing tubes for a portable mechanical ventilator

Via: Simon Fraser University

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3D-Printed Origami Tube for Low-Cost Ventilators

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Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada have developed a low-cost portable ventilator that uses a 3D-printed origami tube rather than a conventional airbag. The volume of the tube can be modified by changing the angles in the origami folding plates.

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Developed by researchers at Simon Fraser's University in Canada, the  3D printed origami tube, which replaces the need for a conventional airbag is a low-cost alternative for patients utilizing the relatively expensive traditional ventilator models. While this latest technology is designed to be low-cost, it is far from makeshift, employing 3D printing, and a unique origami design to create a small and portable ventilator. According to SFU School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering’s associate professor Woo Soo Kim, the new 3D printed ventilator is ideal for patients who need a compact and transportable device outside of hospital settings, such as long-term care homes or in remote rural areas and developing countries (Hastings, 2021). The portable mechanical ventilator is designed to assist a person’s breathing by reliably contracting a 3D-printed origami tube, rather than compressing a conventional bag-valve mask (BVM), which reduces the overall size of the assisted breathing machine with mechanical strength gain (Hastings, 2021). At a time that global healthcare systems are dealing with ventilator shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the innovative 3D printable design is both cheaper, small, and stronger than conventional models.

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https://www.medgadget.com/2021/09/3d-printed-origami-tube-for-low-cost-ventilators.html

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIy6s-eSfZY

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Technology takes the art of origami into the fight against COVID-19

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1. Flexibility of design: It allows designing and printing of more complex designs than traditional manufacturing processes.
2. It facilitates rapid prototyping: In addition to  its inexpensive nature, 3D printing is quicker at creating parts as the part can be finished in hours, allowing for each design modification to be completed at a much more efficient rate.
3. 3D printed ventilator tubes utilize stronger and lightweight components than traditional mechanical ventilators
4. The 3D manufacturing process can also reduce costs on materials as it only uses the amount of material required for the part itself, with little or no wastage
5. Speed of production: The main perk of 3D printing is primarily the speed at the rate of which the parts are generally produced in comparison to the traditional manufacturing approaches
6. Quality  of production: Compared to the traditional manufacturing approaches which are associated poor designs and bad quality prototypes, 3D prototypes are  associated  with high quality manufacturing output.
7. Consistency in design: For 3D printing, the parts are printed in a sequence. Every sequential individual part can be overseen, permitting the errors to be tracked promptly, minimizing the overall wastages

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1. Like other mechanical ventilators,  the 3D ventilator is associated with long-term physical, cognitive, and mental health of ICU survivors
2. Organ injury:  Mechanical ventilation can induce or worsen lung injury, referred to as ventilator-induced lung injury
3.  Mechanical ventilation has been associated with respiratory muscle dysfunction and weaning difficulties
4.  Like other forms of mechanical ventilators, 3D ventilators  are associated with high levels of oxygen have toxic effects, which have been a concern since the early days of MV
5. Limited raw materials: Most 3D printable materials cannot be recycled. Besides, not all metals or plastics can be temperature controlled enough to allow 3D printing
6. Low economies of scale: While the initial investment for 3D printing may be lower than other manufacturing methods, once scaled up to produce large volumes for mass production, the cost per unit does not reduce as it does in traditional design models

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In addition to traditional demand from COPD patients, respiratory ventilators are also in high demand from the Covid-19 population. The impending surge of Covid-19 patients has led to increased demand and scarcity of traditional ventilator models. According to Tae-Ho et al. (2021), the development of low-cost ventilators is a welcome idea. The highly flexible design of the 3D origami structure is highly reliable because it offers more functionalities such as architectured pressure sensing. The 3D printed origami ventilator is a welcome idea at a time when that the current pricing of mechanical ventilators in low and middle-income countries limits their availability to the majority population. According to Garmendia et al. (2020), the low-cost assembly ventilator  may enable the provision of respiratory support to patients in low-income countries who otherwise would have no access to this potentially life-saving therapy, as well as the escalation of ventilatory support availability in strenuous circumstances such as those imposed by respiratory virus pandemics

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Based on the results of Clifton’s Strength Finders’ survey, my top 5 strengths are: learner, achiever, responsibility, restorative, and harmony. The harmony theme allows me to focus on what my followers have in common rather than focusing on what makes them different. This strength allows me to find the common ground during times of conflict. The team member that best matches this strength is input (Izzie) and strategic (Sheila). Ultimately, input-oriented, and strategic team members are just what I need to complement my harmony skills as a team player. As a restorative leader, I enjoy solving problems by pulling the issue apart and probing it from all angles to determine the root cause and design the right solution. I selected Andrew because his activator strength would be instrumental in breathing new life in stalled projects. As an achiever, I am concerned about getting things done as evidenced by the fact I am self-driven to work and to be productive at all times. I would incorporate Faith into the team because her futuristic orientation aligns with the above goal. Finally, my learner instincts allow me to pursue things that are of interest to me in addition to the pursuit of new knowledge. I am particularly inclined to learning and mastering skills related to my job. Lastly, I would choose Cindy because her connectedness strength would be instrumental in fostering collaboration towards the attainment of the universal group goals.

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Garmendia, O., Rodríguez-Lazaro, M. A., Otero, J., Phan, P., Stoyanova, A., Dinh-Xuan, A., Gozal, D., Navajas, D., Montserrat, J. M., & Farré, R. (2020). Low-cost, easy-to-build noninvasive pressure support ventilator for under-resourced regions: Open source hardware description, performance and feasibility testing. European Respiratory Journal, 55(6), 2000846. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00846-2020

Hastings, C. (20th September 2021). 3D Printed  Origami Tube for Low-cost Ventilators. Med Gadget.
https://www.medgadget.com/2021/09/3d-printed-origami-tube-for-low-cost-ventilators.html

Pham, T., Brochard, L. J., & Slutsky, A. S. (2017, September). Mechanical ventilation: state of the art. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 92, No. 9, pp. 1382-1400). Elsevier.