INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightIsinnovaA 3D-printer company in Italy has designed and printed 100 life-saving respirator valves in 24 hours for a hospital
that had run out of them.The valve connects patients in intensive care to breathing machines.The hospital, in Brescia, had 250 coronavirus
patients in intensive care and the valves are designed to be used for a maximum of eight hours at a time.The 3D-printed version cost less
Isinnova chief executive Cristian Fracassi after discovering the original supplier was unable to supply new valves quickly.He and mechanical
engineer Alessandro Romaioli raced there to see the valve for themselves - and three hours later, returned with a prototype."They tested it
on a patient and they told us that it worked well and so we ran again back to our office and we started to print new valves," Mr Romaioli
told TheIndianSubcontinent News.The pair then joined forces with Lonati, another local 3D-printer company to meet the demand, since Isinnova
has six printers and the devices take about an hour each to print.They are working for free, but they do not plan to release the design
publicly.Image copyrightIsinnovaImage caption
The valves are about 10cm (4in) high and 3cm in diameter
"The valve has very thin holes and tubes, smaller than 0.8m - it's not easy to print the pieces," Mr Fracassi said."Plus you have to respect
not [contaminating] the product - really it should be produced in a clinical way."Nevertheless, a second hospital had now got in touch,
requesting more valves."We haven't slept for two days," he said."We're trying to save lives."
