Volunteer Opportunity: Mechanical Design of ETT Device
We are looking for volunteers to help design a 3D-printed endotracheal tube securement device designed for use in critical care settings.
Purpose: To securely hold a breathing tube (endotracheal tube) to the patient’s face to reduce the risk of accidental disconnection and excessive movement that can cause trauma to the lungs.
This device has the potential for significant global impact, particularly in low-resource environments and conflict zones such as Gaza, where affordable and effective airway management tools can save lives.
Short-term volunteer tasks (1-2 weeks):
- Meet with the team on a video call to discuss design requirements and features.
- Use an open-source CAD software (ideally FreeCAD) to design a prototype that is modelled based on the existing Anchorfast ETT holder (see pics below)
*Note: The very first prototype should be an extremely simple, rough version and should not take more than a couple of hours to design. It is mostly a copy of the existing design, plus or minus any features we decide in our initial meeting. The purpose is just to have something quick in our hands to look at and use to explore design ideas. - 3D-print the prototype. Glia staff can help with this if you don’t have access to a 3D printer.
Long-term volunteer tasks (2 weeks+):
- Be our team’s design engineer!
- Optimize the design further
- Develop a testing method for the design
Example ETT Device: See attached picture and below video: The 3D print design would include the plastic component only with locally sourced adhesives and cushioning to complete the full device after production. Video of device: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0blEXPZZQ2Y
