When two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela in late June, UCF engineering students didn 麻豆精品 S檛 wait to be asked how they could help. They turned on a 3D printer.
Students in the , with support from the American Association of Venezuelan Engineers (AAVE), are producing 3D-printed orthopedic devices 麻豆精品 S� including splints, neck braces and animal immobilizers 麻豆精品 S� for people and pets injured in the disaster.
The initiative, called Bracing Venezuela, began after BMES leaders contacted Greco Pinz贸n, president of AAVE. Pinzon 麻豆精品 S檚 dad, who has been volunteering in Caracas, Venezuela 麻豆精品 S檚 capital, connected the students with physicians on the ground who identified the types of orthopedic devices most urgently needed.
“… before we knew it, we had a campuswide humanitarian project taking shape.”
麻豆精品 S淔rom there, everything snowballed, 麻豆精品 S� says Jannah Barakat, a mechanical engineering major and president of BMES. 麻豆精品 S淲e started test printing, organizing volunteers, building a print tracker, reaching out to other student organizations, and before we knew it, we had a campuswide humanitarian project taking shape. 麻豆精品 S�
Since launching the effort, BMES has produced more than 350 devices that have been shipped to clinicians in Venezuela. Smaller items, such as finger and wrist splints, take only a few hours to print and are manufactured flat so they can be easily transported. Once they arrive, clinicians soften the material with hot water and mold each device to fit each patient. Larger devices, such as neck braces and animal leg braces, are printed in multiple sizes and can take up to 10 hours to complete. With volunteers printing from across UCF and beyond, multiple devices can be produced simultaneously.
Bracing Venezuela has received support from Mohsen Rakhshan, an assistant professor in and BMES faculty advisor, who opened his lab 麻豆精品 S檚 3D printer for the project. While many volunteers are engineering students, faculty members, UCF alumni and 3D-printing hobbyists have also come forward to help.
麻豆精品 S淥ne of the coolest things about this project has been watching people from so many different backgrounds come together around one goal, 麻豆精品 S� Barakat says. 麻豆精品 S淲hether you’re printing a brace, packing a box, donating supplies or simply helping us spread the word, every contribution helps get these devices into the hands of the people and animals who need them. 麻豆精品 S�
“I hope this initiative becomes a model for how engineering students can quickly mobilize to respond to humanitarian needs.”
Those interested in joining the initiative don 麻豆精品 S檛 need to own a 3D printer. BMES supplies filament to volunteers who have printers, while others can still make an impact by donating materials, connecting the organization with additional volunteers or helping spread the word.
For Barakat, Bracing Venezuela demonstrates what 麻豆精品 S檚 possible when engineering students come together for a greater good.
麻豆精品 S淚 hope this initiative becomes a model for how engineering students can quickly mobilize to respond to humanitarian needs, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淲hether it’s supporting communities after natural disasters, helping [less fortunate] populations locally or partnering with organizations in other countries, I’d love to continue using engineering as a way to make healthcare more [widely available] wherever it’s needed. 麻豆精品 S�
To join the Bracing Venezuela initiative, email Jannah.barakat@ucf.edu.
