To help protect its students against sexually transmitted diseases, the Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup, in Bas-Saint-Laurent, made its own condom dispenser with a 3D printer and hopes to see the idea spread a little everywhere in Quebec.
“We wanted to make condoms accessible in more places at CEGEP and discreetly as well,” explained Marilyne Tardif, clinical nurse in school health at the CISS du Bas-Saint-Laurent.
Until then, free condoms were only available on a corner of his desk. The nurse who initiated the project therefore mobilized the head of the digital manufacturing laboratory.
«[Elle est] arrived saying, “I need a condom dispenser”, that already makes it a lot of fun. Then, we asked ourselves how we could do it at low cost, find a way to reproduce it easily, that’s when we designed it in 3D,” said Jérôme Frédéric Bouchard, technician at Cégep de Rivière. -du-Loup.
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To do this, a single component is laser cut and it takes approximately 24 hours to print the three parts which are then assembled. This dispenser costs three to four times less than those already on the market and, above all, it is safer.
“It’s about having as few ways as possible to be able to tamper with the condoms inside. So this dispenser doesn’t really allow you to take condoms and put them back inside afterwards. We want young people to feel confident in using these condoms,” added M.me Late.
Dispensers were placed on each floor of the CEGEP residences and in two bathrooms near a student café since these are strategic locations for greater accessibility and discretion.
“It encouraged the use of condoms [d’après] what I hear in my office,” she added.
Condoms are one of the best ways to prevent sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia. The team would like to see its initiative spread to other establishments in Quebec.
“I would like to see it reproduced, that others do it, that’s always what is rewarding. When you see that your design is starting again, that people are making improvements afterwards, that’s really fun. They could try to sell it commercially, that would be perfectly fine depending on the license,” continued Jérôme Frédéric Bouchard.
The CEGEP manufactured nearly ten of them, which were sold in particular to other educational establishments.
– With the collaboration of Catherine Pellerin, TVA Nouvelles
