We recommend this reading list as a starting point:
Making things and drawing boundaries: experiments in the digital humanities
Race-positive Design: A Generative Approach to Decolonizing Computing
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
People at high risk from coronavirus include people who:
- have had an organ transplant
- are having chemotherapy or antibody treatment for cancer, including immunotherapy
- are having an intense course of radiotherapy (radical radiotherapy) for lung cancer
- are having targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system (such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors)
- have blood or bone marrow cancer (such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma)
- have had a bone marrow or stem cell transplant in the past 6 months, or are still taking immunosuppressant medicine
- have been told by a doctor they have a severe lung condition (such as cystic fibrosis, severe asthma or severe COPD)
- have a condition that means they have a very high risk of getting infections (such as SCID or sickle cell)
- are taking medicine that makes them much more likely to get infections (such as high doses of steroids or immunosuppressant medicine)
- have a serious heart condition and are pregnant
People at moderate risk (clinically vulnerable) from coronavirus include people who:
- are 70 or older
- have a lung condition that’s not severe (such as asthma, COPD, emphysema or bronchitis)
- have heart disease (such as heart failure)
- have diabetes
- have chronic kidney disease
- have liver disease (such as hepatitis)
- have a condition affecting the brain or nerves (such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy)
- have a condition that means they have a high risk of getting infections
- are taking medicine that can affect the immune system (such as low doses of steroids)
- are very obese (a BMI of 40 or above)
- are pregnant – see advice about pregnancy and coronavirus
Source: NHS
The best way to inform yourself is to fact-check posts from family and friends on social media, and articles you read that make claims without any sources.
Since the pandemic began, PolitiFact has fact-checked several inaccurate claims about how to prevent or treat COVID-19.
Additionally, the World Health Organization has set up coronavirus mythbusters section on their website.
When someone you know shares something false about the coronavirus, take the matter seriously. When you’re fact-checking someone, it can help to use language that isn’t too abrasive or belittling. A gentle approach can help the person you’re correcting see that you have their best interest at heart.
The backbone of any fact-check is its source list. The same goes for corrections on social media.
One 2017 study found that corrections of misinformation about the Zika virus were more effective when a source was provided. Fact-checks are even more effective when they come from expert sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization, which maintains a list of debunked coronavirus myths.
However, experts say the kind of source you use should depend on the person you’re correcting. Try to find a credible source that the person respects, and focus on facts, not values.
To protect humans from a virus that is 0,01 to 0,03 microns in size, all possible leakage must be avoided. Sealing the mask to the face is crucial for two reasons. One is that the actual leakage that can let the virus in, the second is that a badly fitting mask will stimulate touching it to keep it in place.
Standard masks are designed as an average size that must fit most of the population. But of course no two faces are the same. We see big differences depending on race, gender and age. Standard ISO norm masks are designed based on standard dummy heads which are middle-aged Caucasian and male. A second more profound test can be done on a group of people, but this is not standard.
Therefore we believe that we have to look into the differences to find a new average that fits the people in care jobs. We believe that we need at least three sizes for perfect fits and will base these on an average of a real set of scanned faces. The mask then becomes a smart mask, using AI logic to build an average set of sizes.
An open source and multi-dimentional design with decentralized production asks for a specific approach to market the product.
MASKADAM offers a platform to bring offer and demand together. This cooperative structure(*) is owned by all the actors from the value network.
(*) The cooperative offers support for different products and solutions from various actors fighting the crisis.
3D printing companies can join the organisation by offering their capacity within the set price per piece and buying a share. The capacity they offer is the minimum of 500/day. The companies who also print cassettes guarantee a safe environment in which the handling takes place.
Assembly and logistics partners also buy a share in the coop, and provide their services according their own ability, but with a minimum of 500/day.
Hospitals, schools, care centers and also individuals can buy masks and the filters they prefer on the platform. The platform calculates the nearest production capacity based on need and sends the order to the local production and logistics companies.
In case of a very large amount of orders of the same product (same cassettes), the network looks for industrialized production processes available for high scale and low cost production based on the same research and models. This can be used for export to countries without 3D print capacity.
We list the approved materials for filters for the ADAM model. We continue to develop the model in a multidimensional way with parallel filters for different requirements.
Meltblown
(+) This is the known material used in the traditional masks, in the middle of the sandwiched textile.
(+) High fabrication speed once the industrial production is set up
(-) This is the material everybody in the world wants, and the resources are either running out or are subject to excessive market dynamics.
(-) A lot of western countries don’t have industrial fabrication, so setting up a factory will take from a few months up to even a year.
Why is the Meltblown cassette available in the ADAM model?
A lot of groups, companies and authorities are working hard to get the production up and running in western European countries. Once the availability is high, the mask can be used with the minimum material needed, once you have the basic personalised and reusable facial part. This will be the cheapest of the cassettes.
Electrospinning
(+) Nano spun material is an extremely fine textile. The virus is 0,1 micron and is carried through the air by, for example, a tiny water droplet so the carrier size of the virus is 0,3 micron. This means we need textile that can block this. Nano technology can do this.
(+) We have local research centers that are doing tests. The first production units are set up in Spain and France.
(+) We need less material and smaller filters, so that we can obtain better aesthetics and usability for specific requirements of wearing the mask all day and performing highly detailed and focused handling.
(-) Electrospinning is slow and experimental for the moment.
(-) This material cannot be used on its own, so you need another textile to carry it. This makes the production chain longer.
Why is electrospinning a possible filter in the ADAM model?
We believe we need a long-term solution that can be produced locally. This high-end, fine material has a lot of advantages in wearability, but it will come with a higher price.
Badly designed Chinese masks
(+) There are a lot of them. They are designed for Asian faces and do not fit the Caucasian face. But if the material itself has been proven to be good, why not reuse it in the filter?
(+) We can make 2 filters from 1 mask
(-) The batch has been confiscated, so the government would have to approve and deliver it.
(-) Limited resources
Why would we reuse badly designed masks in the ADAM model?
Because in times of scarcity of resources, we cannot waste any material that can be used to protect people from the virus.
HEPA Merv13
(+) Available because it is used in household supplies, such as vacuum cleaner filters. (not all of them! But hyper allergic higher protection filters, marked as merv13).
(+) Tested to protect against 0,3 micron.
(-) Big, so a big cassette is needed, which can hinder the user.
(-) Price varies a lot.
Why would ADAM uses a HEPA cassette? Logistics can be set up relatively quick. So this model could possibly be the fastest to be delivered.
We combined the knowledge of this model and this model and some of the models shown on thingiverse and wikifactory.com.
We print the facial part in TPU filament (double wand to make sure you have no leakage) and the disposable cassette in PET filled with the filter material available. Make sure you adjust the size according the breathability of the material you use for filters. Here you can find our files.
Because this is a worldwide crisis, all materials are used to save people in the country of production first. Besides, most certified medical textile for masks has either run out or is being sold at excessive prices. A surgical masks consists of 3 layers of material (spunbond – meltblown – spunbond). The meltblown technique, using PP for example is very specialised and hard to find in local production in western EU countries. Products made out of meltblown textile are familiar in our households, but they lack the certification we need. So we need to start from scratch in producing local material. Ideally this can be done in existing industrial environments that can easily change their production line. But it will take months to launch production. Our search goes towards other applications of comparable material in the hope we can find (a combination of) existing material and techniques that fit our needs.
There are several labs that can perform tests to measure the quality of the mask and material. The first test is a penetration test, following EN149 $7.9.2 and EN13274-7. Once succeeded, the second test is the exposure or loading test following EN149 $7.9.2
This procedure takes about 500 seconds to perform.
- We want to optimize the existing design so that a filter can be placed in the pre-chamber. For this we call on designers to help with testing. Tests can be done on filament printers at home or in fablabs. Various available materials are possible. At Timelab, there are also printers available for this. At the same time, the design is being tested on SLS and finally MJM printers.
- We are looking for laboratories for testing the permeability of fabrics of 0.1 microns.
- We are looking for people with knowledge of plastics. More specifically regarding extrusion and sterilisation techniques, PP for the meltblown procedure.
- We are looking for people who can optimise the ribbons/stretchers so that they can be reused.
- We are looking for people with knowledge of seals with RTJ system
- We are looking for safe test environments.
- People with experience in printing polypropylene (PP)
- Experts in supply chain and sourcing
- Companies that produce air filters
- Industrial partners that have production units for foam extrusion/production of NWPP and meltblown material
- Even the minimum protection is better than nothing.
- The 3D printed mask ADAM V1 has a high protection, equal to the ffp2 masks. That is the goal of the project.
- The base is reusable and the filter disposable, which makes it flexible to use with different quality filters available.
- the design is parametric and open, which makes it adjustable to local resources
- Shields give extra protection combined with masks for medical staff under high exposure of the virus.
- Homemade masks are useful for those who are sick and at home.
With open source we don’t mean everyone owning a printer can start printing in their living room. By open source we mean the design can be produced in a decentralised network of hubs all over the world. Which makes the mask and knowledge accessible and adjustable to local resources and needs. Open sourcing is a way to make the product sustainable. Once a viable product is designed it can be spread in no time using all MJM printing units in the world. This is the only way to beat the excesses of creating scarcity in times of crisis.
Of course! If your printer has a heated bed, you can make your own facial part of the mask. You use TPU and make sure you print a double outline. You can decontaminate your model using hydroperoxide tabs used for mouth protheses or put it in boiling water for a minute. You can then buy the filters for it via the coop. Make sure they are not contaminated in the production process.
Yes, all 4 types available are safe and protect healthcare workers. The only difference between the models are their prices, aesthetics and availability of the material used.
- We came a long way in learning about … mostly filters.
- For a good 3D design, there are some examples already available. We selected some of them based on the needs we saw according to the available techniques and resources in our local context and research. Here is what we selected:
- masks composed of at least 2 compartments (facial and filter).
- big enough to cover enough of the face without leakage
- printable in flexible material so that it fits to the face and filter in hard material
- opening must be big enough to make it breathable.