When he was 13 years old, Ahmed Saba walked into the Moona center, a socio-technological initiative at the high-park in Majd al-Krum in the Galilee, and simply asked to learn. Six years later, as a 19-year-old student at the prestigious Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Saba has built a prototype for the world's lowest-cost standard respirator.
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Ahmed teamed up with a doctor from his neighborhood, who works at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, and asked for his help to better understand the role of respirators. Using 3D prints, Saba was able to create components for a standard ventilator. Saba's dream is to collaborate with African and developing countries to fight the coronavirus pandemic and respiratory diseases, by creating and assembling respirators with 3D printing technology, and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people that otherwise don't have access to medical treatment available in developed countries.
Saba told Israel Hayom that he got the idea and inspiration for his low-cost respirator after the pandemic erupted across the globe and in Israel when the urgent need arose for the life-saving machines.
Video: Anas Saba
"There was immense pressure from countries around the world, which were in need of respirators," he said. "Countries with money were able to buy them, but it wasn't possible for many Third World countries to acquire them – and people simply died. I didn't accept it as predestination that people would have to die because there aren't enough respirators."
Moona is a non-profit organization founded by former Israeli Air Force pilot Assaf Brimer. The association mainly works in Arab communities, including Kfar Qassem, Kuseife, Rahat, and Majd al-Krum, and strives to make the high-tech industry more accessible to children, youth and teenagers from the Arab sector. The young students gain experience and expertise working with the sophisticated equipment that Moona provides, which costs in the millions of dollars, which prepares them to join the largest high-tech companies in the market with established experience.
Speaking to Israel Hayom, Brimmer said, "Ahmed Saba is part of a team of youngsters who want to move ahead in the high-tech and technological fields. His breakthrough in making the respirator prototype could save many lives across the globe."
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