Origami Leads to New Non-Profit
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 (status pending), 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.
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Note: The Origami Mask has been developed rapidly to address the needs of PPE during the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, extensive testing has not been completed, and the Origami Mask has not been registered with or cleared by the FDA.
Written by Eric Sugalski
Eric Sugalski is the founder and president of Archimedic, a contract medical device development firm with offices in Boston and Philadelphia. Sugalski has led the development of a novel pediatric life support system, cardiovascular implants, laparoscopic surgical devices, and an array of wearable diagnostics. In addition to his technical background, Eric provides companies with product development strategy that encompasses regulatory, reimbursement, and fundraising requirements. Eric obtained a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
