Origami Leads to New Non Profit
Apr 20, 2020
During the COVID-19 crisis, Archimedic collaborated with hospital-clients and fabrication partners to rapidly develop the Origami Mask. This mask can be made from a variety of materials without the need for sewing or specialty equipment. Within a very short period of time, thousands of masks have been deployed to healthcare professionals and vulnerable individuals to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
As an open-sourced initiative, Archimedic and collaborators have made all design files, material recommendations, and instructional videos available to the public. Hundreds of individuals from across the globe have downloaded the files, and stories have been pouring-in from individuals building and donating masks to hospitals, nursing homes, and family members. Furthermore, hundreds of open-source collaborators have joined the initiative to suggest design and manufacturing improvements, provide material and vendor information, and expand raise awareness of the Origami Mask as a source of DIY PPE.
Through this process, the innovators behind the Origami Mask determined that this open-source concept could be extended to address a variety of unmet medical needs. Team members behind the Origami Mask used this project as launching pad for Open Medical, a non-profit organization focused on open-sourced medical products for patients and providers with urgent, unmet medical needs.
Just as the COVID-19 public health crisis has illuminated unmet medical needs during a time of public health crisis, many other patient populations, such as pediatrics and rare diseases, have been neglected by the medical device industry due to poor financial returns associated with limited markets sizes. The objective of Open Medical is to address these underserved patients by leveraging the talents and resources of the open-source community.
Open Medical is a 501c3 organization, which relies on the contributions of a broad base of members having clinical, engineering, design, marketing, and other backgrounds. A robust community has been activated, and additional members are sought to help drive these important initiatives forward. Please consider getting involved and contributing to the Open Medical Mission.
Learn more about Open Medical Here:
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