‘What would you make on a 3D printer that could impact over a billion lives?’
A vast array of opportunities lie ahead of us when one asks themself this question, limited only by one’s imagination. This is the very question that inspired a Queen’s and Harvard-educated physician-scientist, innovator, and educator, Julielynn Wong, to develop cutting edge technologies to impact over one-seventh of the world’s population, which has increased the accessibility to medical resources in many distant regions to date.
Medical technology has been around since cavemen began using rocks as tools for trepanning. Since then, technology has catapulted medicine into a new era. “From painless needles to robots used for surgeries, technology is here to stay. Technology is considered to be the driving force behind improvements in healthcare,” (1) leading to tremendous changes in the medical field. These changes range from making patient care more efficient to increasing medical facilities’ reach to accommodate more patients than before. Dr. Wong’s contributions to the field of medicine consist of devising innovative technological solutions to human problems. Her conceptions were primarily facilitated by her passion for science and technology. However, this passion was not developed over a brief timeframe.
Julielynn Wong fell in love with science and technology at a young age when she received a microscope for her birthday. From then, she firmly believed that becoming a doctor was her ultimate purpose in life. Since then, her passion for medicine and technology has taken her all over the United States from Silicon Valley to Washington, and even the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. One thing that had always captured her imagination was this idea of a replicator machine that could create nearly anything in the world. When she started using 3D printers, she realized that the applications of this technology could help others in innumerable ways. Wong believed that a 3D printer would become the doctor’s bag of the future. This belief of hers was influenced in no small part by the role 3D printing played in making her childhood easier.
Julielynn Wong developed a swan neck deformity in her right hand during her childhood. In one of her many talks, she mentioned that it had always been an emotional topic for her because she’d “always wanted her hand to be normal”, she said, “I kind of control how my fingers go, they’re hyper, but with the splints on, it keeps my hand in control. These splints give me hope that one day I’ll be able to do the things I really want to do with my hand” (2). The splints were prone to wear and tear, so she created digital 3D models of her finger splints and now, when she needs a new splint, she can print it at her local library. Similarly, over a billion people worldwide have disabilities but cannot get assistive devices that allow them to participate fully in everyday life. While not everyone has access to a 3D printer at their local library, this technology considerably reduces the cost of production and the time taken to create custom assistive devices. Wong and her team continue to create more principal devices, ranging from simple cup holders that attach to wheelchairs, to more complex prosthetic limbs or appendages, in order to help the disabled community.
The aforementioned team responsible for this development is social enterprise 3D4MD, of which none other than Wong is the founder and CEO. 3D4MD makes high-quality 3D printing solutions to impact over 1 billion lives. Wong founded 3D4MD in 2011, and its mission is to provide 3D-printable healthcare supplies to remote communities worldwide. 3D4MD is also building a digital library of 3D-printable templates to make low-cost medical supplies available on demand.
Wong was invited onboard the International Space Station by Made in Space after proposing that medical supplies could be manufactured using a 3D printer in space. She was then invited to be the Health and Safety Officer for a simulation at the remote Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. There she tested her idea to 3D print medical supplies in space and was successful. She soon began working on bringing her theory to life. In honour of the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, Wong, alongside three other female scientists, was invited to participate in a 30-day simulated mission at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. NASA used this mission to study the effects of space flight on humans. Dr. Wong acted as the mission’s flight engineer. The following year, astronauts aboard the International Space Station used a desktop-sized 3D printer to print medical supplies, using 3D4MD blueprints.
The same year, in 2017, Dr. Wong founded Medical Makers, a global organization based in Toronto, to create 3D printable prototypes for both patients and healthcare providers. They have collaborated with the non-governmental organization Ghana Medical Helps to create a ring that allows the re-use of medical suction canisters. Wong also took a team of Medical Makers to the Mars Desert Research Station in November 2017 to test out prototypes. The Medical Makers are constantly seeking new ideas from various sources and encouraging innovation amongst the general populace. In March 2018, a Medical Make-A-Thon was held in Kingston, Ontario. Participants attended a weekend course to create 3D printing codes and develop solutions to patients and healthcare providers’ current problems.
The most significant problem facing medical workers now is the coronavirus pandemic. In response to this, 3D4MD and Medical Makers have been printing 100% reusable face shields for frontline workers. “The current paradigm of single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) is not sustainable,” explained Wong. “The Canadian government estimates that 63,000 tons of PPE will end up in landfills over the next year. PPE cannot be recycled because they are potentially contaminated with biohazards.” The reusable face shields can be sanitized at home or in commercial dishwashers. The advantage of making reusable medical devices is that it reduces the supply chain dependence on single-use items and promotes sustainability.
A lot of Dr. Wong’s work draws on her experiences as a woman working in a non-traditional and male-dominated field, which offers her a unique perspective. This perspective empowers girls and women to embrace exciting careers and leadership roles in science, technology, and engineering fields. Dr. Wong only further encourages this in her role as a STEM educator, insisting that-
“To be a successful innovator, to some extent, you have to actually not care what people think. If you see a solution that can fix a big problem, then go ahead and do it.”
Written by Aishani Panda and Chandreyi Banerjee
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2. Dr. Julielynn Wong, Joule Innovation Grant Recipient 2016 - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1N_kAyuExc
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6. About Julielynn Wong: Canadian scientist, physician and pilot | Biography, Facts, Career, Wiki, Life
7. International Women's Day | Dr. Julielynn Wong | #BeBoldForChange https://www.nsb.com/blog/international-womens-day-dr-julielynn-wong/
8. Dr. Julielynn Wong, Joule Innovation Grant Recipient 2016 - YouTube
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