A Spanish consortium that comprises Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), Leitat, HP, the Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa and the Parc Taulí hospital in Sabadell, has developed the first medical 3D printed ventilator to support hospitals & other health institutes in the fight against Covid-19.

A breath of fresh air for hospitals in Spain (and to a certain extent to hospitals worldwide) that are now lacking for ventilators that can literally save patients lives.  As a reminder, as far as Covid-19 is concerned, among all symptoms that might appear, about one person in six becomes seriously ill “and develops difficulty breathing”.

“It can save lives, ” says Manel Balcells, the health commissioner at the Leitat technology center. “It comes at a critical moment due to the high demand for ventilators when the traditional market is not enough. It is campaign, simple, but it allows intubation for three or four days, “adds Balcells, who is also president of the advisory council of the Salut department.

Spanish organization Leitat, designed the new respirator. Named Leitat 1, it has been medically validated by Lluís Blanch, the director of Innovation at the Parc Taulí hospital in Sabadell and expert in mechanical ventilation.

To facilitate the production and thereafter the assembly by medical staff, it was crucial to simplify the design and components. With that in mind, Leitat designed a robust and useful device that can easily be manufactured using AM technologies.

The consortium is now looking for expanding their production capacity. Pere Navarro, State Delegate at the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium, states “we are talking to distribution companies throughout Spain”.  HP production teams, as well as Airbus and Navantia joined the public-private project. Any other manufacturer that has a production capacity can join this project to further support this project.

In the meantime, the developer team is already working on Leitat 2, which will further comply with the requirements of the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices.

Source: La vanguardia. Image: ventilation system manufactured with 3D printers in the Free Zone (CZFB) – Remember, you can post free of charge job opportunities in the AM Industry on 3D ADEPT Media or look for a job via our job board. Make sure to follow us on our social networks and subscribe to our weekly newsletter : Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram ! If you want to be featured in the next issue of our digital magazine or if you hear a story that needs to be heard, make sure to send it to contact@3dadept.com