A customized 3D printed N95 respirator analogue to face crisis capacity scenarios in pandemics such as the COVID-19 and to support surgical personnel during PPE shortages

The expansion of the global economy in the last century has been a wide enabler for rapid economic growth and technological development. It can however be said that this interwoven economic fabric has rendered most modern-day societies closely interdependent to one another, rendering them able to function normally only under a very delicate set of conditions. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown how extraordinary surges in patient morbidity and mortality can result in healthcare crises which manifest to severe economic, social and political disruptions.