BCN3D donates 3D printed face shields for health workers

Health 26 March 2020 By

BCN3D Technologies is one of the leading national and international manufacturers in the design, production and distribution of 3D desktop printers with FFF technology, reaching more than 60 countries.

As the main technological innovation, it has developed in its Barcelona, Castelldefels headquarters the IDEX double extruder technology that allows increase in the printing of parts and reduce costs for many business sectors. Its main clients include Seat, BMW, NASA, Camper, the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona and others.

Faced with this extraordinary pandemic situation and the lack of protective equipment for assistants, nurses, doctors, intensivists and other medical workers is exposing healthcare workers to increased risk of infection, which in turn endangers patients, who could be infected by doctors or nurses from the COVID-19.

The professionals at BCN3D have turned to help fulfill the campaign of BCN3D ‘We are here to help‘ in which its Farm of 63 3D printers to print face shields to the hospitals, and administrations and that are endorsed with scientific rigor to fight the COVID-19.

In the last few days, more than 50 hospitals and primary care centres in the province of Barcelona and other areas of Catalonia and other regions in Spain have responded to this campaign by requesting masks or protective visors like face shields for the health workers.

Since last week, BCN3D has been printing 3D protective visors that are fastened with a transparent acetate screen and a rubber back fixture.

It already distributed 400 3D face shields to the following Spanish hospitals:

  • Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona (60 face shields)
  • Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol de Badalona (Can Ruti) (50 face shields)
  • Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Sant Boi de Llobregat (30 face shields)
  • Hospital Antoni Lleuger de Gimbernat de Cambrils (30 face shields)
  • CAP Roquetas de Barcelona (30 face shields)
  • CAP Río de Janeiro de Barcelona (40 face shields) (first photo in this release)
  • Hospital de Viladecans (15 face shields)
  • Hospital Virgen de los Lirios de Alcoy (Alicante) (50 face shields)
  • Hospital de Granollers (45 face shields)
  • CUAP Castelldefels (30 face shields)
  • Clínica Tomás Boix de Olot (Girona) (15 face shields)

A total of 2,000 face shields are expected to be delivered in the next few days and the first design has been validated by hospitals and these have assured BCN3D that the 3D printed models meet the safety criteria so that they can be reused (they are disinfected daily with geek + water and soap).

Among the centres that have received the material, the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona stands out, which is committed to being an innovative health centre and has played a role in coordinating, supporting and validating the BCN3D’s protective face screen model as a safety measure against COVID-19 infection.

Arnau Valls, coordinator of the 3D printing unit of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona, highlights that ‘In the current situation, in which adult or general hospitals are treating the highest volume of patients by COVID-19, our role is to support and collaborate with all our means in the management of the COVID-19 crisis, in this case, from the innovation in 3D printing of medical material.’

As part of the 3D printing platform to help hospitals on their fight against the current pandemic 3DCOVID-19.tech is organizing with the CIM Foundation of the UPC and other companies in the sector to manage and assess the shipment of 3D printed protection parts for the medical sector.

In addition, BCN3D has prepared on its website a new form to manage all initiatives and to centralize all requests in Spain and the rest of the world that wish to contribute to the project of 3D printing parts for hospital use.

It has positioned itself as a trusted partner to help in medical processes and with patients by making its 3D printing technology available.