{"id":2457239,"date":"2020-04-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324375"},"modified":"2020-04-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T06:00:00","slug":"artists-and-device-makers-in-aspen-producing-medical-equipment-to-meet-shortage-in-covid-19-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/artists-and-device-makers-in-aspen-producing-medical-equipment-to-meet-shortage-in-covid-19-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Artists and device-makers in Aspen producing medical equipment to meet shortage in COVID-19 crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.6184486373166\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-324375-773\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled gallery-container\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-1-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy Leah Aegerter | Anderson Ranch's 3d printers making medical face shields over the weekend in the Digital Fabrication Lab.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Anderson Ranch&#8217;s 3d printers making medical face shields over the weekend in the Digital Fabrication Lab.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy Leah Aegerter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-1-1024x768.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-1-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Anderson Ranch's 3d printers making medical face shields over the weekend in the Digital Fabrication Lab.\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-1-1-768x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy Leah Aegerter | One of Leah Aegerter's medical face shields in progress at Anderson Ranch Arts Center.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>One of Leah Aegerter&#8217;s medical face shields in progress at Anderson Ranch Arts Center.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy Leah Aegerter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-1-1-768x1024.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-1-1-768x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"One of Leah Aegerter's medical face shields in progress at Anderson Ranch Arts Center.\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-4-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy Leah Aegerter | Anderson Ranch\u2019s Leah Aegerter makes medical face shields with a 3D printer in her home.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Anderson Ranch\u2019s Leah Aegerter makes medical face shields with a 3D printer in her home.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy Leah Aegerter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-4-1024x768.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-4-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Anderson Ranch\u2019s Leah Aegerter makes medical face shields with a 3D printer in her home.\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-3-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy Leah Aegerter | Anderson Ranch\u2019s Leah Aegerter makes medical face shields with a 3D printer.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Anderson Ranch\u2019s Leah Aegerter makes medical face shields with a 3D printer.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy Leah Aegerter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-3-1024x768.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/medmasks-atd-041620-3-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Anderson Ranch\u2019s Leah Aegerter makes medical face shields with a 3D printer.\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/artists-and-device-makers-in-aspen-producing-medical-equipment-to-meet-shortage-in-covid-19-crisis\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/artists-and-device-makers-in-aspen-producing-medical-equipment-to-meet-shortage-in-covid-19-crisis\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Normally in the springtime Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village would be humming with resident artists and workshops. Its Digital Fabrication Lab would have artists making sculptures and such on its bleeding-edge technology 3D printers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But in spring 2020 with the novel coronavirus pandemic gripping the U.S., the Ranch is closed to the public and the \u201cFab Lab\u201d is a small-batch factory churning out personal protective equipment to help meet the critical shortage for medical professionals treating COVID-19 patients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Ranch initiative is run by Leah Aegerter, the Fab Lab technician.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019m grateful to help out,\u201d Aegerter said in a recent interview. \u201cYou can definitely feel powerless, even though staying home is a great contribution too at this point. It\u2019s always great to feel useful. I\u2019m lucky to have resources at Anderson Ranch to be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She is among a small fleet of Aspen area locals using their talents to create medical equipment like face shields, medical masks and ventilator devices that are in shortage during the public health crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Part-time Aspen resident Nancy Hairston, president and CEO of MedCAD, a custom medical device company headquartered in Dallas and Denver, was here in mid-March when the local coronavirus outbreak began. Hairston decided to stay here as she pivoted her company\u2019s engineers and 3D printers toward inventing new devices that could fill the shortages of ventilators and protective equipment in Colorado and nationwide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhen all this happened we started getting calls from surgeons, customers and reps saying, \u2018Is there anything you can do to develop products quickly for us, to help out?\u2019\u201d Hairson recalled. \u201cSo we pivoted the company to make COVID products.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The artist-run Anderson Ranch initiative launched when Aegerter got plans for making reusable plastic face shields and visors through the open-source initiative #GetUsPPE, which is providing files, with which anyone with a 3D printer and the skills to operate it can fill the national shortage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI chose that because I knew I could make a lot of them quickly,\u201d she said. \u201cThe face shields seemed like a good fit for the equipment I had and that not a lot of people could make.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">After research and trial runs, and getting a go-ahead from Colorado hospitals and clinics who said they would accept them, Aegerter began production on April 3.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Each mask takes about five hours and 30 minutes to print at Anderson Ranch, so she keeps her three machines running around the clock and has been making about nine per day. She\u2019ll begin shipping to the clinics she has partnered with beginning this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Town of Snowmass Village has awarded Anderson Ranch $1,000 for materials for Aegerter\u2019s initiative. Each mask costs about $2.65 in raw materials, so the money will fund hundreds of ready-to-use shields. Aegherter expects to keep making them until they\u2019re no longer needed and she encourages anyone with access to a 3D printer to get involved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Hairston, the MedCAD CEO, and her team normally make custom devices like guides for surgeons to use for precise cuts during cancer surgeries. So they are accustomed to quick turnarounds and creative solutions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Though they don\u2019t normally make protective equipment for ventilation, they were uniquely suited to help in the current crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are working with a different case with different needs every day,\u201d Hairston said. \u201cSo this has been right up our alley developing devices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">After consulting with clinicians, pulmonologists and respiratory specialists in the Aspen area and Denver, they began making protective equipment and created a splitter for ventilators which allows one machine to keep two COVID-19 patients breathing, essentially doubling the supply of a hospital\u2019s ventilator capacity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The splitter, now being tested, can be mass-produced at MedCAD\u2019s Denver and Dallas facilities and would save lives in hospitals facing ventilator shortages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are developing and prototyping here in Aspen around the clock,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Because Aspen has not yet had the anticipated surge of critical coronavirus cases that have overwhelmed hospitals in cities and small towns elsewhere, it ended up being an ideal home base for Hairston\u2019s initiatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s been beneficial to be here, \u201c she said. \u201cThe consulting I and our remote engineering team have had in this town has been very helpful because people have been interested in helping and they have more time than clinicians in harder-hit cities right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The first product MedCAD delivering is a 3D-printed face shield for medical professionals treating COVID-19 patients, used by doctors and nurses the same way Aegerter\u2019s Anderson Ranch shields will be. Hairston\u2019s team is producing upwards of 1,000 per week on their fleet of high-production 3D printers. They began shipping to hospitals this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFace shields are in need everywhere,\u201d Hairston said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard numbers I can\u2019t even believe from smaller hospitals. It\u2019s a huge need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Hairston is also working on 3D-printing N95 medical masks to help meet the shortage in Aspen and beyond. She is working toward FDA approval of a medical mask with a 3D-printed air filters for a cleanable, reusable model that could used several times in a day if needed. On Saturday she said it was in its 12th prototype after 15 days of round-the-clock work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aegeter, the artist, looked into making products like N95 masks as well, but found most hospitals would reject the open-source version because they\u2019re not approved by health organizations for medical use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The discrete efforts from the local artist and CEO come in addition to the wide <a id=\"N0x14b9150N0x1414f90:N0x14b9150N0x14dbf70\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/threading-the-aspen-community-through-the-covid-19-crisis\/\">local sewers\u2019 movement to make fabric masks<\/a> for the general population as Colorado public health officials advise people to wear masks during everyday life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Other local artists playing a role on the medical equipment side are Aspen-based sculptor Ajax Axe, who is working with the nationwide group Open Source COVID-19 Medical Supplies, making 3D printed parts and face masks. And Susan Carrolan, the local milliner whose hat stand is a fixture at Aspen\u2019s Saturday market, who has marshaled her team of sewers at the Aspen Airport Business Center to sew surgical wrap fabric pieces that to be used in medical masks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe bottom line is that it feels good to be able to do something that helps,\u201d Carrolan said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\"><a href=\"mailto:atravers@aspentimes.com\">atravers@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/entertainment\/artists-and-device-makers-in-aspen-producing-medical-equipment-to-meet-shortage-in-covid-19-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anderson Ranch&#8217;s 3d printers making medical face shields over the weekend in the Digital Fabrication Lab.Courtesy Leah Aegerter One of Leah Aegerter&#8217;s medical face shields in progress at Anderson Ranch Arts Center.Courtesy Leah Aegerter Anderson Ranch\u2019s Leah Aegerter makes medical face shields with a 3D printer in her home.Courtesy Leah Aegerter Anderson Ranch\u2019s Leah Aegerter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 03:44:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}