Help 3D Print Face Shields For Healthcare Workers
The health care equipment crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic has hit hospitals and health providers hard. 3-D printing offers an innovative way to create the plastic shields that screen health care workers from the virus. The AI Robotics Ethics Society (https://www.theaires.org) has put together a manufacturing and supply chain to produce these shields in quantity and we are seeking funding for this effort.
As such, AIRES is raising funds to create NIH approved 3dverkstan 3D printed face shields for our healthcare personnel combatting Covid-19 around the nation (https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-013306). We have member volunteers from our AIRES chapters at UCLA, USC, Caltech, Cornell, and Brown ready to participate in this effort. AIRES is committed to helping our healthcare workers in this capacity. Engineers from 3D4E (3D printing for everyone) at UCLA will be directly supporting our initiative by training our teams across the nation in 3D printing and assisting us in manufacturing and distribution. Together, we will get this done.
$10 can provide 7 complete face shields that are reusable and can help protect 7 healthcare professionals during this unprecedented pandemic.
Due to the nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), healthcare professionals EVERYWHERE are severely affected. Hospitals have either run out or are reusing the ones they have which pose major health risks. As a last resort measure, hospitals are even asking providers to wear bandanas to protect themselves
(source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/health/hospital-coronavirus-shortages-preparedness/index.html)
Inspired by the #MillionMaskChallenge, AIRES has cancelled all upcoming events nationwide to focus on this initiative to print as many face shield PPEs as possible for our incredibly stressed healthcare system.
100% of donations will be used to fight COVID-19. Any excess funds remaining will be donated to other nonprofits helping fight COVID-19 and all 3D printers will be donated to various universities once the pandemic subsides.
OUR STORY
While we were founded to address AI ethics and this Gofundme initiative has little to do with the AIRES mission, we reminded ourselves of why we started doing AI ethics to begin with. We created AIRES because we foresaw the potential dangers of a world where unethical AI runs amuck. We wanted to make a difference, and shape our future for the benefit of all of humanity. But now, a new recognized danger is already here, one that we couldn’t foresee and is threatening our loved ones. We must face this new danger together and help fight this pandemic however we can with the same determination as shaping the future of ethical AI. We do not have to be medical professionals to help our society and fight this pandemic. When we help our healthcare providers and keep them safe, they will be able to in turn help and save our loved ones.
With AIRES’ network and established infrastructure, we will mobilize our Chapters around the nation into this effort, printing PPE for medical professionals in LA, New York, Rhode Island, and beyond. Once we have enough funds, we will ship 3D printers along with all the necessary materials to our trusted AIRES chapters and affiliates. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at theaires.org or [email redacted]
https://dailybruin.com/2020/05/04/student-organizations-collaborate-to-create-3d-printed-ppe-for-hospitals/
OUR GOAL
In support of the #MillionMaskChallenge, AIRES at UCLA, USC, Caltech, Cornell, and Brown will begin 3D printing face shields, and any other PPE materials requested by our local hospitals such as UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center and LAC+USC County hospital in Los Angeles County.
We will be active creating and donating these PPEs in the following cities across the United States:
Altadena, CA
Arcadia, CA
Cerritos, CA
Fullerton, CA
La Habra, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Orinda, CA
Pasadena, CA
Redwood City, CA
Union City, CA
Westwood, CA
Yorba Linda, CA
New York City, NY
Providence, RI
We would like to manufacture at least 10,000 pieces of PPE materials across the nation.
FAQ
Who are we?
AIRES TEAM LEADERS
Ariana Chow is a Managing Editor of the AI Ethics Journal (AIEJ) and an Outreach Facilitator for the AI Robotics Ethics Society (AIRES) branch at UCLA. She is a first-year Psychobiology and Philosophy double major with an interest in healthcare policy reform.
Zhi Dong, M.D. MPH is a Resident Physician in Anesthesiology at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. He is at the front lines battling COVID-19 and is happy to pledge his support for this endeavor.
Amanda Han is the Vice President for 3D4E at UCLA. Amanda is currently a second year Computer Science and Engineering major interested in Computer Graphics and 3D modeling.
Kyle Ho is the Lab Manager for 3D4E at UCLA. He is a second year Mechanical Engineering major who has a passion in designing ergonomic movie props and costumes, deepfake machine learning algorithms, as well as 3D printers.
Aaron Hui is the founding president of the AI Robotics Ethics Society. He is a fourth year student at UCLA studying Cybernetics and Philosophy focusing on the ethics of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
Jenny Ji is the President of the AIRES at Caltech. She is a freshman studying bioengineering with an intended track of clinical diagnostic techniques.
Harrison Kadish is the President of the AIRES at Cornell. He is a sophomore ILR major from Connecticut. Harrison’s career goals include pursuing a law degree and subsequently serving society at large.
Amer Khan is the President of the AIRES at USC (University of Southern California). He is a third-year student studying biology with an interest in the role of AI in medicine.
Leila Kim is the President of the AIRES at Brown. She is a second year studying Computer Science with a focus in AI and Security and hopes to create software for the medical field in the future.
Phipson Lee is the Webmaster and a project lead for 3D4E at UCLA. Phipson is currently also a fourth year Computer Science and Cognitive Science double major at UCLA, pursuing research and projects in the field of Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision.
Wonyoung Lee is a member of the AIRES at Brown. She is a second year student studying Cognitive Science and Computer Science. She is interested in discussing the possible benefits and harms of development in AI technology.
Victoria Liu is the Vice President of the AIRES at UCLA. She is a second year student at UCLA studying psychobiology and global health. She wishes to help provide equal access to healthcare for underrepresented communities in the future.
Bhav Patel is the President and flight team lead for 3D4E at UCLA. Bhav is currently a fourth year Aerospace Engineering major interested in Aircraft and Additive Manufacturing.
Nikhil Pawar is a mechanical engineer at UCLA and will be joining Tesla Motors at their HQ in Palo Alto in their Power Engineering team. He's happy to contribute his expertise in 3D printing for this endeavor.
Ryan Tong is the Tech Advisor for 3D4E at UCLA. He is a second year Computer Engineering major who is interested in computer architecture and enjoys 3D printing.
Josh Vendrow is the Outreach Director for AIRES at UCLA and is a second-year at UCLA double majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics with a minor in philosophy. Josh is currently a research assistant for UCLA’s Computational Applied Math department working on solving factorization methods using neural networks.
How will the funds be used?
100% of the funds will go directly to the National AIRES' bank account and all funds will be used towards the manufacture of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). As all AIRES affiliated universities are currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we no longer have access to 3D printers. Funds will first be used to purchase 3D printers and then all related materials necessary to create the PPE. Funds may also be used to ship PPE to different hospitals.
Once we have procured plastic, filaments, elastic, and sanitizing supplies, we will start by producing face shields using FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printers to make the molds. We may produce other forms of PPE such as mask molds, assuming the hospitals have filters.
Your donations will not be applied to any administrative fees. All AIRES and 3D4E members are volunteering and any additional funds will be donated to hospitals and other nonprofits, or used to purchase more PPE from other companies when they become available. ALL 3D PRINTERS will be donated to universities once the need for 3D printed PPEs subside.
What’s the point of making these shields? And aren’t respirators or face masks more important?
There’s a massive shortage of PPE everywhere. By 3D printing and laser cutting what we can, we can provide our healthcare professionals with an extremely vital piece of equipment. Respirators and N95 masks are just a part of the proper protection. Your entire face must be protected, not just the nose and mouth. The shield can also help extend the use of other protective equipment by offering additional protection from external sources of contamination. The face shield we are 3D printing is the 3dverkstan strapless design to maximize cost effectiveness.
https://3dverkstan.se/protective-visor/#quick
NIH Approval: https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-013306
How are you manufacturing the face shields?
Once we have procured the 3D printers, we will immediately begin printing the parts for the PPEs in accordance with the 3dverkstan shield open access files. Our AIRES teams will be trained by 3D4E at UCLA engineers in 3D printing. Once the parts are printed and quality checked, our teams of AIRES volunteers will assemble the face shields and other PPEs by hand, sanitize the finished product, and prep them for delivery to local hospitals. PPE will be left for 3 days for complete decontamination before delivery.
How are you distributing the face shields?
In coordination with local hospitals and health departments, we will personally hand-deliver the PPEs to medical professionals in ICUs and ERs. We may also consider shipping the PPEs to hospitals at no cost to them using the funds from this gofundme.
I’ve seen other charity efforts related to COVID-19. How is this one different?
While we are fundamentally an academic organization focused on ethical AI technologies, we are putting that all on hold to maximize our impact in ensuring that healthcare providers in need of PPE can get them. We will use our 300+ member pool of volunteers led by our AIRES Team Leaders throughout the nation to create as many PPEs as possible for our healthcare system. Your donation will also help stockpile an emergency reserve. Providing our healthcare workers with the necessary tools for them to protect themselves is our number 1 priority. If they get sick, they won't be able to support our communities in getting better.
We believe that seeing a tangible impact is very important, so will be posting updates and photos of the PPE being created as well as when we deliver them on here and on our social media!
Are donations tax deductible?
No. Unfortunately, donations are currently not tax-deductible. We are also in the process of acquiring 501(c)(3) designation and we will update accordingly once that process is completed.
Aside from donations, how can we help?
If you are an AIRES or 3D4E university member at one of the chapters and want to volunteer to help with assembly or distribution, you can email [email redacted] with a subject headline “AIRES PPE Manufacture and Distribution”. If you are not affiliated with AIRES or 3D4E, please email us with "Nonmember AIRES PPE Manufacture and Distribution."
If you have 1 or more 3D printers and want to manufacture PPE, you can email us with a subject headline "AIRES PPE 3D Printing Partner."
If you have a direct relationship with suppliers of PPE materials that can provide materials at market costs, you can email us with a subject headline “AIRES PPE 3D Printing Materials."
If you are a member of the press, you can email us with a subject headline “AIRES COVID-19 Media Request."
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/19131450/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/airesnational/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.i.res
Thank you for supporting us and in turn supporting the health care system!
This fundraiser was based off of and inspired by Dr. S. Jean Chai and Anna Chai's endeavors of the same nature. We need more of these endeavors everywhere!!!
