About
The Citizens Response JA team was brought together through the shared goal of contributing to the efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The team is made up of entrepreneurs, engineers, technical experts, medical doctors, consultants and companies committed to this fight.
How You Can Help
Our team needs access to 3D printers, spool, sheets of laminate (as would be used by standard printeries), financial and other in-kind resources, as well as, appropriate connections to facilitate our work with healthcare professionals on the frontlines of this crisis.
- If you believe you can support us in this initiative, please contact citizensresponseja@gmail.com
- To learn more or join the team, please email us at: citizensresponseja@gmail.com
- To sign up specifically to provide the use of a 3D printer to this cause: Sign up here.
- To reach us on Twitter or Instagram; use the hashtag #CitizensResponseJA
We are making a call to anyone that has a 3D printer that they could provide to speed up production, please go to: Sign Up Form. We need all the help we can get.
Global supply chains for medical resources are heavily disrupted. Countries have to start looking at local solutions to help offset the demand. Here’s a list of things that the hospitals need, if you’re a part of a business, organization or other group that has the means consider producing:[insert list here]
Our ventilator has already began development and us and other parties involved are confident in our ability to meet the minimum requirements outlined by local authorities. We have a lot of support from the Faculty of Engineering as well as the UWI Medical Faculty, however we do need additional resources to see it through.
The Citizens, or the team of individuals working on this initiative are listed below. As updated on March 30th 2020. Please be mindful that this list is updated on a daily basis and we are always looking for support from other dedicated citizens, anxious to be of assistance in this crisis.
NAME | Company | Company Role | |
Larren Peart | BlueDot | Founder & CEO | |
Yekini Wallen-Bryan | PreeLabs Limited | CEO | |
Ali Matalon | CorpCare Social Impact Consultants Ltd. | Founder & MD | |
Christopher Gayle | Gizzada Ltd. | CEO & Software Developer | |
Kriston Kong | PreeLabs Limited | Product Developer | |
Shane Smith | PreeLabs Limited | Contract Developer | |
Stephan Rampair | |||
Marc Frankson | Designs by Marc Limited | Operations Manager | |
Shawn Wenzel | CaribTek Inc. | President | |
Tai DaCosta | Radiant Energy Ltd | Director of Operations | |
Dr. Nadia McLean | Paediatrician and Paediatric Nephrologist | ||
Dr. Khia Duncan | UWI Hospital | ENT Surgeon | |
Ja’dan Johnson | Open Source Medical Supplies | CoFounder | |
Todd Rhoden | Crimson Dawn Mfg | Director of Sales & Marketing | |
Dr. Landi Peart | KPH | ||
Paul Pounall | |||
Summer Jarrett | KAJ by Summer Jarrett | Founder & CEO | |
Deika Morrison | Do Good Jamaica | Co-Founder & Chair | |
David Walcott | NovaMed | Founder & CEO | |
Daniel Schwapp | Schwapp Technical Laboratories | Founder & CEO | |
Leah Goldson | CorpCare Social Impact Consultants Ltd. | Research Analyst | |
Dr. Paul Aiken | Mona Tech | Managing Director | |
Dr. Adrian Lawrence | UWI Mona Faculty of Engineering | Acting Dean | |
Simone Brown | 876 Volunteer | Founder & Chief | |
Dominic Summers | Chord Co/The Collab | CEO & Operator | |
Dr. Dánielle Levy | National Blood Transfusion Services (Blood Bank) | Medical Doctor | |
Zackary Fray | Premier Land & Water Development Ltd. | Civil Engineer |
The response is an effort focused on providing solutions to shortages experienced by the healthcare sector in the fight against COVID-19. These solutions include, but are not limited to:
- Identifying the needs and challenges faced by our healthcare sector and communicating to the public ways in which they could provide support.
- Setting up relevant channels of communication to ensure that those with the means of supplying solutions have a way of liasoning with the official healthcare bodies to deliver solutions in a way that meets the requirements of the healthcare sector.
- Identifying private companies and individuals who can provide resources to collaborate and ensure that the solutions requested by the relevant bodies are provided.
It is critical to note that these initiatives are experimental and are a response to a crisis, not what would typically be done under normal circumstances. Further, these deliverables are pending approval by the local medical authorities.
- 3D printing the frames of face shields (to be assembled with laminate) for medical professionals to extend the life or support prolonged use of N95 masks which are already in shortage globally. A collaborative effort of various individuals of the network spearheaded by PreeLabs Limited and BlueDot Data Intelligence Limited
- Having 5,500 surgical masks sewn by hand through work with the Kingston Kiwanis Club, Stephan Rampair, KAJ by Summer Jarrett and generous donation of material and sewing equipment / factory time by Marc Frankson of Designs by Marc Ltd and Todd Rhoden of Crimson Dawn Ltd
- With hopes to have other groups join in donating N95 masks, hazmat suits, gloves, etc. which will be critical in the fight against covid-19
- Resources are provided below on how YOU too can sew your own mask for day-to-day use.
- Engineering of a low-cost emergency ventilator referencing and building upon other foreign initiatives providing open source designs and collaboration accelerating the R&D process. A collaborative effort of various individuals of the network spearheaded locally by PreeLabs Ltd., with use of open source research from organisations like MIT and the guidance of local medical experts in the fields of anesthesiology and pulmonology,
- 3D printing ventilator parts for repair or for adaptation of ventilator systems
- Repair of broken ventilators from the UHWI. They have received 8 to date with more on the way. An initiative spearheaded by Mona Tech Engineering Services Limited with the assistance of the UWI Mona Faculty of Engineering providing lab space and other resources.
Research on DIY Masks, Rapid-Build Ventilator Systems, PPEs and more
- Related article: Robots Everywhere Wiki : SaltMask
- Cambridge University study showed that lots of household materials are nearly as good as surgical masks
- “Testing the Efficacy of Homemade Masks”
- “A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers”
- “Making An N95 Mask For COVID-19 Coronavirus? What You Need To Know”
- “DIY How to Sew a Surgical Face Mask For Hospitals in Need”
- “Simulation as a tool for assessing and evolving your current personal protective equipment: lessons learned during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic”
- “Columbia Otolaryngology on Twitter”
- “One Way to Help Strapped Hospitals? Print PPE Using 3D Printers”
- NPR on Twitter
- “ZDNet on Twitter”
- “FAQs on 3D Printing of Medical Devices and Accessories during COVID-19”
- “DIY How to Sew a Surgical Face Mask for Hospitals in Need”
- “Proposal for Synthesis of Cloth Face Masks in Times of PPE Shortage – COVID”
- “Protective Visor”
- “What Are The Best Materials to Make a DIY Face Mask”
- “Rapidly manufactured ventilator system”
- “COVID-19 Ventilator Projects and Resources and FAQ”
- MIT E-VENT – Emergency ventilator design toolbox
- “MIT Will Post Free Plans Online for an Emergency Ventilator That Can Be Built for $100”
- “Key Ventilation Specifications – MIT E-VENT”
- “Formula One engineers help create breathing aids for coronavirus patients”
- “MIT-based team works on rapid deployment of open-source, low-cost ventilator”
- “California based company is working on engineering a slimmed-down version of a ventilator”
- Wisynco donates modified PET bottles to KPH
- “Invention by young J’can touted as possible weapon in fight against COVID-19”