Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, HP has launched various initiatives that demonstrate its commitment to society and the more caring side of its technology. The Be Online program, in the educational field; the range of aid programs aimed at helping its partners and customers face the financial and commercial challenges arising from COVID-19; and its involvement and that of its entire network of digital manufacturers in the printing of 3D medical devices are the three pillars of the company’s action.
“We are clear that the current situation requires making commitments to the communities where we live, work, and do business, not only as individuals but also as companies. At HP, we embrace this commitment, implicit in our DNA, to help those fighting and suffering on the front lines with the disease and also those suffering the collateral effects of this crisis, with the aim of ensuring that, once the situation is over, no one is excluded from the system,” says Helena Herrero, president of HP for Spain and Portugal.
In this regard, HP has launched five initiatives:
– In the educational field, HP is launching its Be Online program, which aims to facilitate access for both students and teachers and connect them through free collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom. This way, schools will be able to create their own virtual classes and continue the academic year off-campus, advised by HP experts, enabling their students to access the same educational development opportunities as students at more advanced schools.
– Support and financing initiatives for customers and partners. HP offers flexible financing and leasing options tailored to each customer’s needs, including deferred/reduced payments until 2021, short-term leasing models, and financial coverage for HP devices. From an operational perspective, HP is expanding its 24/7 customer support and launching a cybersecurity program, which includes online consulting, free webinars, and the HP Sure Click Pro solution, free of charge, until September 30, 2020. For its partners, HP is customizing the learning models of the HP University platform and implementing more accessible, flat-rate incentive programs with more flexible compensation models.
– In the field of additive manufacturing, HP and its global network of partners are working together to supply hospitals in all regions of the world with critical 3D-printed medical supplies, ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety. Thanks to HP’s 3D printing technology, equipment, expertise, and production capacity, the company has already delivered more than 34,000 3D-printed parts such as face shields, hands-free door handles, mask adjusters, and face masks. This initiative, which involves HP’s 3D R&D centers in Barcelona, Spain; Corvallis, Oregon; San Diego, California; and Vancouver, Washington, also includes making validated design files available to the general public for many of the parts that do not require complex assembly.
In the healthcare sector, HP, through its latest HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology, has begun mass production of one of the key components of the respiratory circuit developed by a group of nursing professionals. A design authorized by the Ministry of Health that allows healthcare professionals, at a time of shortage of advanced oxygen therapy units, to raise the blood oxygen saturation of COVID-19 patients from 70% to 90% (although caution is always required with the data), thereby gaining time or avoiding admission to intensive care units (ICUs). HP estimates a production capacity of 10,000 units per day to meet the current demand for mechanical ventilation units in Spanish hospitals. Thus, the development of this device and its operation will be evaluated alongside traditional respiratory therapies, which are systems that provide PEEP (positive airway pressure) and high oxygen flows and which have been endorsed in various approvals and technical trials, as well as in routine clinical practice.
– In this same vein, and with the aim of helping alleviate the shortage of HP materials, within the alliance between the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium and Leitat, together with the Terrassa Health Consortium and the Parc Taulí Hospital in Sabadell, they have developed the first industrializable field respirator ready to support hospitals and ICUs throughout Spain. A project developed thanks to HP’s 3D technology, both in design and technology, as well as in prototyping. A device that, pending authorization by health authorities, will be capable of producing between 50 and 100 units per day.
