Health officials said federal agencies are working to spur regulatory and scientific innovation around 3D printing in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on March 26 that it entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“This MOU provides a framework for collaboration intended to facilitate regulatory and basic science innovation with 3D printing technologies to respond to COVID-19,” the FDA said in a release.
The aim of the initiative is to bring together patients and healthcare providers, local manufacturers with capabilities, and designs for needed medical products amid the outbreak.
![An academic at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul makes protective masks using 3D printing technology in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on March 26, 2020. (Lucas Uebel/Getty Images) Epoch Times Photo](https://img.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2020/03/27/3D-printed-PPE-4-1200x800.jpg)
‘We’re Trying to Save Lives’
With 3D printing, medical devices and personal protective equipment (PPE) can be made using a range of media, including metals, plastics, hydrogels—even biological materials.