UCD Engineer Uses 3D Printing to Tackle Global Ventilator Shortage

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24

Mar

UCD Engineer Uses 3D Printing to Tackle Global Ventilator Shortage

Award-winning engineer Colin Keogh is leading a group of global technology experts working to develop easy-to-assemble ventilators that can be built using 3D printers and off-the-shelf components. The Open Source Ventilator Project was initiated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the realisation that many countries do not have enough ventilators to meet the increasingly urgent demand as the virus spreads rapidly across the globe.

Colin and his collaborators in Ireland are working with the HSE to test and validate six prototype devices. They are working closely with some 300 computer engineers, scientists, doctors and researchers around the world who have answered the call to apply their knowledge, skills and creativity to develop innovative ways of producing vital medical equipment quickly and cheaply. As one collaborator put it, they are “building the plane while it flies.”

Colin will complete his PhD in Creative Technology Innovation at UCD this year, and has previously been included in the Forbes list of 30 Under 30 “who will impact Europe for the next 50 years”.