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Medical Maker Response to COVID-19: Distributed Manufacturing Infrastructure for Stopgap Protective Equipment

Published: 07 May 2021 Publication History

Abstract

Unprecedented maker efforts arose in response to COVID-19 medical supply gaps worldwide. Makers in the U.S., participated in peer-production activities to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE). Whereas, medical makers, who innovate exclusively for points of care, pivoted towards safer, reliable PPE. What were their efforts to pivot medical maker infrastructure towards reliable production of safe equipment at higher volumes? We interviewed 13 medical makers as links between institutions, maker communities, and wider regional industry networks. These medical makers organized stopgap manufacturing in institutional spaces to resolve acute shortages (March–May) and chronic shortages (May–July). They act as intermediaries in efforts to prototype and produce devices under regulatory, material, and human constraints of a pandemic. We re-frame their making efforts as repair work to offer an alternate critical view of optimism around making for crisis. We contribute an understanding of these efforts to inform infrastructure design for making with purpose and safety leading to opportunities for community production of safe devices at scale.

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  • (2024)Exploring the Potential of Generative AI in DIY Assistive Technology Design by Occupational TherapistsProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3688506(1-6)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
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  • (2023)Rapid Convergence: The Outcomes of Making PPE During a Healthcare CrisisACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/354292330:1(1-25)Online publication date: 7-Mar-2023
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      cover image ACM Conferences
      CHI '21: Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
      May 2021
      10862 pages
      ISBN:9781450380966
      DOI:10.1145/3411764
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      • (2024)Exploring the Potential of Generative AI in DIY Assistive Technology Design by Occupational TherapistsProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3688506(1-6)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
      • (2024)An Ecosystem of Support: A U.S. State Government-Supported DIY-AT Program for Residents with DisabilitiesProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675667(1-16)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
      • (2023)Rapid Convergence: The Outcomes of Making PPE During a Healthcare CrisisACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/354292330:1(1-25)Online publication date: 7-Mar-2023
      • (2022)Open-Source Hardware May Address the Shortage in Medical Devices for Patients with Low-Income and Chronic Respiratory Diseases in Low-Resource CountriesJournal of Personalized Medicine10.3390/jpm1209149812:9(1498)Online publication date: 13-Sep-2022
      • (2022)Warm Solutions: Centering Nurse Contributions in Medical MakingProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35557716:CSCW2(1-25)Online publication date: 11-Nov-2022
      • (2022)The Global Care Ecosystems of 3D Printed Assistive DevicesACM Transactions on Accessible Computing10.1145/353767615:4(1-29)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2022
      • (2022)Making a Medical Maker's Playbook: An Ethnographic Study of Safety-Critical Collective Design by Makers in Response to COVID-19Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35129486:CSCW1(1-26)Online publication date: 7-Apr-2022

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