The Initial Development and Practice of Training Materials Using 3D Printer to Employment Support for Inclusive Society

In Japan, in the field of employment of person of with disabilities, the number of employments is increasing but still there is a problem that there are only a few employment types and industries. [1] In real time, COVID-19 infection control measures in addition to the use of ICT have accelerated new work styles. Also, 3D printers are creating new designs and manufacturing styles. [2], [3] Based on these, the purpose of this research is to develop the training materials so that person with disabilities can become operator of 3D printer and get the work. Finally, the use of it might make inclusive society. The research method is to develop training material and then conduct experiments to use it to verify the training effect. The training material is a video format consisting of slides and audio that can replay and stop by learners. Also, the training content is a basic knowledge of 3D printers and actual modeling operations. In the experiments, learners use the material and make a model and then they answered the questionnaire survey. As a result, by the cross tabulation of the frequency of reviewing the manual and the feeling about the speed of the manual was demonstrated that the speed of manual, contents and understanding of explanation are appropriate without the extreme repetition. In conclusion, it was found that manuals with video and audio were easier to understand in those icons could be shown when necessary. However, there are problems that it would not be possible to respond flexibly in the case of an operation error and in the case of lengthy process. © 2022 IEEE.

Designing a Face Shield Frame in PTC Creo and Printing it in a 3D printer

Coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is a transmissible disease that was recently discovered. The infection is mainly transmitted through droplets produced by an infected person coughing, sneezing, or breathing. These droplets are too heavy to hold the air and fall rapidly on floors or surfaces. When you come into contact with people who have a coronavirus or touch a contaminated surface, you can become infected by the virus after touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. The face shield is generallyintended to provide protect from droplets produced by the infected person. A large number of healthcare workers were infected atthe start of the pandemic was due to a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). How all of a sudden hospitals can be obtained protective equipment's, ventilators and some other spare parts needed. Shortage of medical and personal protective equipment has affected the ability of many countries to respond to the pandemic. Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is well suited to address this shortage, and these components can be printed effectively using 3D Printers. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic. Health care workers should use a face shield to protect their faces from droplets. The current work aims to design a face shield mask frame in PTC Creo as per requirement and print it in a 3D printer machine. The process followed to print the model is FDM technology and PLA (polylactic acid) material has been used to print the frame. The filament material (PLA) is deposited layer by layer on a build platform by heating it to its melting point. The combination of many layers would give a final 3D model. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of a highly protective 3D-printed mask and evaluation of its viral filtration efficiency using a human head mannequin.

Facemasks are one of the most effective and low-cost prophylactics for COVID-19. In the spring 2020, when a severe shortage of facemasks occurred worldwide, various types of 3D-printed masks were designed and proposed. However, the protective effects conferred by most of these masks were not experimentally evaluated. Here, we provide a new simple design of 3D-printed mask and evaluate its protective effect in a viral filtration test using a human head mannequin. The developed mask can be constructed with a low-cost 3D printer, with an approximate production cost of US $4. This mask has three parts: the main part, wearing parts, and a piece of non-woven fabric filter. The volume of the filter, which needs to be changed daily, was reduced to approximately 1/10 of that of commercially available surgical masks used in this study. The developed mask is fabricated from polylactic acid, a biodegradable plastic, and its surface contour contacting the face may be adjusted after softening the material with hot water at 60-80°C. The viral filtration efficiency of the developed mask was found to be over 80%. This performance is better than that of commercially available facemasks, such as surgical masks and cloth masks, and equal to those of KN95 and KF94.

A Case Study of Augmented Physical Interface by Foot Access with 3D Printed Attachment

We propose an attachment creation framework that allows foot access to existing physical interfaces designed to use hands such as doorknobs. The levers, knobs, and switches of furniture and electronic devices are designed for the human hand. These interfaces may not be accessible for hygienic and physical reasons. Due to the high cost of parts and initial installation, sensing or automation is not preferable. Therefore, there is a need for a low-cost way to access physical interfaces without hands. We have enabled foot access by extending the hand-accessible interface with 3D-printed attachments. Finally, we proposed a mechanism (component set) that transmits movement from a foot-accessed pedal to an interface with attachments. And we attached it to the doorknob, water faucet, and lighting switch interface. A case study was conducted to verify the system's effectiveness, which consisted of 3D-printed attachments and pedals.

Remote Training of Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery With Advanced Manufactured 3D Sinus Models and a Telemedicine System.

Objective: Traditionally, cadaveric courses have been an important tool in surgical education for Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS). The recent COVID-19 pandemic, however, has had a significant global impact on such courses due to its travel restrictions, social distancing regulations, and infection risk. Here, we report the world-first remote (Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery) FESS training course between Japan and Australia, utilizing novel 3D-printed sinus models. We examined the feasibility and educational effect of the course conducted entirely remotely with encrypted telemedicine software. Methods: Three otolaryngologists in Hokkaido, Japan, were trained to perform frontal sinus dissections on novel 3D sinus models of increasing difficulty, by two rhinologists located in Adelaide, South Australia. The advanced manufactured sinus models were 3D printed from the Computed tomography (CT) scans of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Using Zoom and the Quintree telemedicine platform, the surgeons in Adelaide first lectured the Japanese surgeons on the Building Block Concept for a three Dimensional understanding of the frontal recess. They in real time directly supervised the surgeons as they planned and then performed the frontal sinus dissections. The Japanese surgeons were asked to complete a questionnaire pertaining to their experience and the time taken to perform the frontal dissection was recorded. The course was streamed to over 200 otolaryngologists worldwide. Results: All dissectors completed five frontal sinusotomies. The time to identify the frontal sinus drainage pathway (FSDP) significantly reduced from 1,292 ± 672 to 321 ± 267 s (p = 0.02), despite an increase in the difficulty of the frontal recess anatomy. Image analysis revealed the volume of FSDP was improved (2.36 ± 0.00 to 9.70 ± 1.49 ml, p = 0.014). Questionnaires showed the course's general benefit was 95.47 ± 5.13 in dissectors and 89.24 ± 15.75 in audiences. Conclusion: The combination of telemedicine software, web-conferencing technology, standardized 3D sinus models, and expert supervision, provides excellent training outcomes for surgeons in circumstances when classical surgical workshops cannot be realized.

Accessible Platform for High-Throughput COVID-19 Molecular Diagnostics and Genome Sequencing Using a Repurposed 3D Printer for RNA Extraction.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the dependence of diagnostic laboratories on a handful of large corporations with market monopolies on the worldwide supply of reagents, consumables, and hardware for molecular diagnostics. Global shortages of key consumables for RT-qPCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA have impaired the ability to run essential, routine diagnostic services. Here, we describe a workflow for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in upper respiratory samples including nasal swabs and saliva, utilizing low-cost equipment and readily accessible reagents. Using repurposed Creality3D Ender-3 three-dimensional (3D) printers, we built a semiautomated paramagnetic bead RNA extraction platform. The hardware for the system was built for $300 USD, and the material cost per reaction was $1 USD. Named the Ender VX500, instrument performance when paired with RT-qPCR for SARS-CoV-2 detection in nasal and saliva specimens was two virus copies per microliter. There was a high-performance agreement (assessed using 458 COVID-19 nasal swab specimens) with the Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay run on the Hologic Panther, a commercial automated RNA extraction and detection platform. Inter- and intrainstrument precision was excellent (coefficients of variation (CoV) of 1.10 and 0.66-1.32%, respectively) across four instruments. The platform is scalable with throughput ranging from 23 specimens on a single instrument run by one user in 50 min to 364 specimens on four instruments run by four users in 190 min. Step-by-step instructions and protocols for building and running the Ender VX500 have been made available without restriction.

The Challenge of Dental Education After COVID-19 Pandemic - Present and Future Innovation Study Design.

The present work suggests research and innovation on the topic of dental education after the COVID-19 pandemic, is highly justified and could lead to a step change in dental practice. The challenge for the future in dentistry education should be revised with the COVID-19 and the possibility for future pandemics, since in most countries dental students stopped attending the dental faculties as there was a general lockdown of the population. The dental teaching has an important curriculum in the clinic where patients attend general dentistry practice. However, with SARS-CoV-2 virus, people may be reluctant having a dental treatment were airborne transmission can occur in some dental procedures. In preclinical dental education, the acquisition of clinical, technical skills, and the transfer of these skills to the clinic are extremely important. Therefore, dental education has to adapt the curriculum to embrace new technology devices, instrumentations systems, haptic systems, simulation based training, 3D printer machines, to permit validation and calibration of the technical skills of dental students.

Voltammetric determination of heavy metals in honey bee venom using hanging mercury drop electrode and PLA/carbon conductive filament for 3D printer.

A new method for determination of selected heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Ni) in honey bee venom was developed. Heavy metals are metabolized and incorporated into bee products, including honey and honey bee venom (apitoxin). Their composition reflects contamination of "bee environment", providing information about heavy metal contamination in the neighborhood of human dwellings. Moreover, assessment of bee products contamination is relevant for medicine, as they are a tool for promising therapeutic and chemoprophylactic strategies against COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). Owing to the complicated matrix, the developed method consists of wet mineralization with sulfuric acid, nitric acid, under increased temperature, and pressure and subsequent repeated boiling with concentrated nitric acid. Determination of the selected metals was carried out by anodic or cathodic stripping voltammetry on two types of electrodes: pen-type hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) and PLA filament with carbon conductive admixture (PLA-C) for 3D printer. Contents of lead and cadmium in all analyzed bee venom samples were on the level of mg kg-1, of nickel and copper about ten times higher, and of zinc on the level of g kg-1. The results achieved using HMDE were recorded with average relative standard deviation (RSD) 5.4% (from 3.2% to 8.6%) and using PLA-C 11.8% (from 6.5% to 18.0%). The results achieved using both electrodes proved to be equivalent with statistical probability higher than 95%.

Disinfection of 3D-printed protective face shield during COVID-19 pandemic.

This study assessed the disinfection using 70% ethanol; H2O2-quaternary ammonium salt mixture; 0.1% sodium hypochlorite and autoclaving of four 3D-printed face shields with different designs, visor materials; and visor thickness (0.5-0.75 mm). We also investigated their clinical suitability by applying a questionnaire to health workers (HW) who used them. Each type of disinfection was done 40 times on each type of mask without physical damage. In contrast, autoclaving led to appreciable damage.