Support to the health system through joint efforts of partners

On the initiative and with the coordination of the Science and Technology Park, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Montenegro and the Innovation and Entrepreneurial Center Tehnopolis from Niksic, supported by the Ministry of Science of Montenegro, wide coalition for 3D printing in Montenegro has been set out. Namely, many other Montenegrin colleagues went to 3D printing at similar steps, especially protective visors for healthcare workers and they have already delivered certain quantities of these products. Currently, we are negotiating with number of companies and institutions so that 3D printing industry in Montenegro could join their forces and help the healthcare system in fight with COVID-19. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering University of Montenegro, Hiron Creative Lab, Architecture, Drone Studio, Vakom, 3D Print Montenegro, as well as 3D Factory have made their 3D printers available to us, from which we have formed a 3D cluster that will produce these protective devices for free in the coming days, as long as it is any needed. The Capital City Podgorica has also put its 3D printing resources into the support of the health care system through its work at the Competence Center, and they have already made a significant contribution. In addition to the aforementioned institutions and companies, a very significant cluster was created by our colleagues who comprise 3D Room and Open Box Studio, University of Donja Gorica, Mtel Digital Factory, elementary schools 'Sutjeska', 'Makarije' and 'Oktoih', Library for the Blind of Montenegro, a company Machine Center - Remid Vis l.l.c.

In the coming period, we will join forces and work together to produce protective visors and equipment in collaboration with the National Coordinating Body and the Institute of Public Health.

 

In addition to the components we currently print, we are constantly working to find new 3D models that more closely address the needs of the healthcare system. For this reason, we have used our international contacts and communicated with our partners in several countries to find solutions to more complex problems with our 3D printer.

In contact with partners from the Czech Republic, we have received models for printing protective masks that have received certificates and attestation from the Czech health system. The models were provided to us from Technical Faculty through the Embassy of the Czech Republic, who worked hard to develop a mask printing model that would be helpful in this situation, especially to healthcare professionals. Also, NTP's partner, Research Institute from Barcelona - Leitat with the support of Airbus, Seat and HP have designed a medically-certified field respirator that is made by using a 3D printer. This respirator has been certified in Spain by the health system and is currently in use. If our capacities are able to support the printing of sample of this respirator, we would start printing it. After checking its functionality, it can be of great help to our healthcare system. We would like to mention the cooperation with the organization "Visionaries of Serbia", which will also provide us with some of the materials and some already printed models of frames for visors.

In the coming period, we will use other ways of producing visors besides 3D printing, such as the production from clear plastic material or plastic injection, which can help us to produce significant quantities of these products in the shortest possible time.

Considering the large volume of work faced by the Montenegrin health institutions in this period, we are aware of the lack of time in which they could devote themselves to the disinfection of the delivered items, so we came to the idea that we could perform the disinfection and packaging of the items ourselves in the IPC Tehnopolis laboratory. With this procedure, we have significantly shorten the time it takes the institution to prepare the items for their use, because they get them already prepared. This is a specific process of disinfection of protective medical equipment and further transport, which takes place as follows:

-         - all pieces of protective medical equipment are treated with 70% alcohol and delivered to the laboratory;

-         - the assembly and packaging process as well as the working surfaces are pre-disinfected by switching on the UV lamp and wiping the work surfaces with a disinfectant. In this room every further action is carried out in connection with this process under controlled conditions;

-         - the person who assembles and packs all the pieces of protective equipment for medical staff wears protective equipment: gloves, mask, cap and coat;

-         - when the equipment is assembled, it is packed in a vacuum bag or ordinary bag depending on the resources;

-         - then the packed equipment is partially vacuumed, and in the case of packaging in ordinary bags, it is welded;

-         - Packed equipment is again exposed to UV rays, after which it is packaged and transported.

These are just some examples of how science and innovation can be of service to public health and society in general. The efforts of the Ministry of Science through funding various innovation and development projects in Montenegro greatly contribute to the community's ability to cope not only with emergencies but also with the challenges of modern society as a whole. For this reason, in the future, increasing attention should be paid to these segments of development based on innovation and the latest technologies that support our society in various fields. Science and technology in numerous spheres show that they are becoming more accessible to all people. It is the situation with the COVID-19 virus that has shown the awakening and proactive action of not only the institutions of the system, but also of numerous small and medium-sized companies, individuals and all others who have made a concrete contribution to help with deficient models of medical equipment.