A new initiative wants to set up a Dutch supplier chain for face masks that provide protection against COVID-19, also known as the corona virus. Dutch Corona Mask connects individuals, organisations and initiatives, with the aim of learning from each other and gaining knowledge. At the same time, master students of Technical Medicine at TU Delft, led by Professor Jaap Harlaar, are launching an initiative to develop respirators.
Dutch Corona Mask is an initiative by a community of mainly technical people from the Dutch high-tech sector. Those involved stress that Dutch Corona Mask is not a company and furthermore has no ambition to grow into a business. "We work on a voluntary basis. We feel an obligation to make our knowledge available to those who need it," Dutch Corona Mask writes on its website.
100,000 face masks per day
The initiative was launched on 18 March 2020. On this day, the use of protective masks in Dutch hospitals reached 100,000 units per day. This does not include mouth caps needed by, for example, GPs, home care and other healthcare workers to protect themselves. The expected rise in the number of corona patients therefore threatens a shortage of mouth masks.
Dutch Corona Mask is committed to addressing this shortage. The initiative does this by linking individuals, organisations and initiatives. The initiative also collects frequently requested information and makes it available.
Five tracks
The initiative is divided into five tracks, which experts can join. These are the following tracks:
- Analysis
- Dutch supply chain
- Alternative Designs
- Disposable filter
- 3D Printing
Those wishing to contribute to the initiative can add information to Trello boards for these specific tracks. For mutual communication, the parties involved use Slack.
More information on the initiative can be found here.
OperationAIR
Master students of Technical Medicine at TU Delft have simultaneously launched the 'OperationAIR' initiative, led by Professor Jaap Harlaar, to develop respiratory equipment. Students from other fields of study including Biomedical Engineering, Industrial Design and Applied Physics have also now joined in.
With OperationAIR, the students want to develop a simple and relatively cheap respirator as soon as possible. With this, the group hopes to contribute if capacity problems arise due to the shortage of artificial respirators in Dutch hospitals.
Prototype
Students are cooperating in the initiative on a voluntary basis. A Programme of Requirements for the respirator has now been drawn up based on the MoSCoW method. Based on these requirements, those involved are working on a prototype. Whether this prototype will eventually actually go into production depends on several factors.
"We are in close contact with intensivists from LUMC and Erasmus MC about the current situation in Intensive Care Units. We also try, also with the help of TU Eindhoven, to map the expected growth in the number of Corona patients and the ICU occupancy rate. We are also working with various companies and agencies to accelerate the development of a respirator," Professor Harlaar explains.
More information about OperationAIR can be found on the initiative's website. Would you like to contribute to this initiative? On a dedicated webpage, those involved list specific products and/or services they are currently looking for.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
