Bhutan is exposed to frequent floods and earthquakes due to its geographical position. And in such untoward incidences, post-disaster preparedness is pivotal in rescue operations. To understand how digital fabrication like 3D printing can be applied to emergency and humanitarian assistance, a seminar was held in the capital yesterday.
When it comes to emergency situations post-disaster, having the capacity to make medical and other emergency-related equipment comes in handy.
Andrew Lamb, global innovation advisor with Field Ready, an international non-governmental organisation said digital fabrication is about computer-controlled machines.
“We often use our hands or hand tools or even power tools to cut wood and metal and to shape plastic to make the things that we need. For more complex products or for unusual shapes computer-controlled machines makes sure that we can make what we need with the right level of quality and complexity. So, digital fabrication helps us to do this.”
According to Field Ready, making equipment at the local disaster sites not only makes it faster and easier but cheaper as well. Medical and other rescue equipment which were already designed by Field Ready was showed to the participants.
“Some of the items that we have made are medical devices and spare parts to medical equipment. In case if one little thing of a medical device is broken, we can repair it,” Andrew Lamb said.
“We have fetoscopes and tweezers and autoscopes for looking inside people’s ears. There is quite a lot wide range of tools that we can make.”
The participants from the Department of Disaster Management, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), FabLab Bhutan, and other stakeholders attended the seminar.
The Department of Disaster Management says such new innovations in technology can further enhance search and rescue operations post-disasters. They will look into incorporating digital fabrication into its disaster preparedness plans.
The Field Ready team will visit villages and schools in the coming days to assess how they can assist Bhutan in times of disaster emergencies. The Field Ready team was in the country on the invitation of FabLab Bhutan.
