Fox News: He’s been practicing emergencies for over 38 years, so why come back when he retired on February 1?
Dr. Bruce Becker: I’m going back to action because of COVID-19’s wishes. I’ll go back to the front, or “the well, ” as we call it. That’s all I feel I have to do. I have worked my entire career in trauma situations and worked on disaster situations and refugee crises abroad for a long time. I was in Armenia seven times after the earthquake, worked on the Cambodian-Thailand border after the post-Vietnam War refugee crisis, and crossed minefields. Now it’s a coronavirus here in the U.S.
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK LEADS TO 3D-PRINTED NASAL HISPITOS
Fox News: As lead medical director of Vitae Industries, what is the company doing lately to combat COVID-19?
Dr. Becker: We print 3D parts for medical devices, such as fan connectors. Connectors that look like the letter “Y” can be a fan that can serve a patient on a fan that can serve two or 4 patients. Lately we are working with a consortium of other Rhode Island scientists and engineers to facilitate the production of this component of the ventilation device.
Dr. Becker: The automated preparation device Vitae has produced is able to print custom drugs on site, on demand, as the wishes of patients or suppliers, anywhere. This is because the auto-dial device is quite small. It measures approximately two feet on about one foot and part of diameter and is lightweight and portable. Therefore, it is interesting to note that the concept of detection at the point of service or prescription at the “point of service” was only beginning before this pandemic began. Now, in front of the COVID-19, this convenience and power have become a critical necessity.
3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY FIGHTS CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC
Fox News: Can you understand why comfort and power are so vital in this climate?
Dr. Becker: The 3D printer is helping to reduce paints and prepare for immediate production of scarce drugs. Patients who do not have COVID-19 are very involved in moving to medical services for diagnosis and remedy due to the presence of patients with COVID-19. So what was done next to the patient’s bed now is transferred to the sidewalk. This means that we want to be able to take medical care outdoors from the hospital or emergency care center (where no one wants to pass at this time because of their coVID-19 infection considerations) and take them to a tent, in the parking lot, to a conference center, to places where they had never been cared for before. The automatic dialing device is capable of printing customized drugs for each patient from the very small device we have and a computer for the express wishes of any patient on site, on site, even at the edge of the street.
Fox News: Why is it vital for you and Vitae to join this war against coronavirus?
Dr. Becker: Well, for the same explanation of why I made the decision to get out of retirement and start caring for patients because we are committed to health care, patient healing and the best care for patients with poor physical condition in our lives on the face of this pandemic.
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Emily DeCiccio is a journalist and video maker for Fox News Digital Originals. Send him a tweet from @EmilyDeCiccio.