As the number of hospitalizations due to Covid-19 continues to rise across the U.S., addressing the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers has become increasingly urgent. Institutions and organizations across the country – including MIT – have been scrambling to collect and send unused face masks to local hospitals.
In the race to help protect doctors, nurses, and patients, some have suggested that technologies like 3D printing be used to quickly manufacture masks. In a recent memo, MIT faculty members Martin Culpepper, Peter Fisher, and Elazer Edelman, with input from Neil Gershenfeld and A. John Hart, detail the risks associated with using 3D printing to build PPE and Covid-19-related medical devices.
