The equipment provided by the UIB research groups, students and lecturers has begun to manufacture hands-free door opening devices
The academic community at the University of the Balearic Islands has made six 3D printers available to hospitals on the islands. The equipment is normally used by five UIB and IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) research groups for their activities. In addition, lecturers who have printers at home and students coordinated by the Higher Polytechnic School student association have joined the initiative to offer a further four 3D printers to cover the requirements at hospitals due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The first round of parts that have begun manufacture will be added to those already produced by other groups so that health staff at Son Espases University Hospital can open doors with their elbows, thus avoiding having to touch door handles with their hands. This will help reduce the risk of contagion at hospitals given that handles are a major source of infection. The initiative is being coordinated by the Simulation Centre and 3D unit at Son Espases University Hospital in collaboration with the UIB.
Further collaborations have begun to cover demand at other hospitals, such as Inca County Hospital.
The solidarity initiative at the UIB is being coordinated by Dr Yolanda González and Dr Bartomeu Alorda, both UIB lecturers and members of the e-Health and Multidisciplinary Telemedicine via Smart Cyber-Physical Systems research group at the IdiSBa. The team of volunteers includes researchers from the research groups in Analytical Chemistry, Automation and Environment, Systems, Robotics and Vision (SRV), Flow Injection and Trace Analysis (FI-TRACE), and in Architectural Constructions and Building Engineering (CONSTARQ), six students from the Higher Polytechnic School Student Association, and a specialist technician in Science and Technology Services at the UIB, who have offered to keep the printers in operation.
The initiative is open to all members of the academic community who have 3D printers and would like to make their own generous contribution.
Publication date: Wed Apr 08 08:50:00 CEST 2020
