We are living in the middle of the emergency over coronavirus all over the world. The reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on societies and economies around the world cannot be understated. Because an estimated 15% of COVID-19 patients require hospitalization and 5% require intensive care (Z. Wu and McGoogan 2020), the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has the potential of posing a substantial challenge to medical systems around the world (Remuzzi and Remuzzi 2020; Grasselli, Pesenti, and Cecconi 2020).
Necessity is the mother of invention. A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem. This saying appears in the dialogue Republic, by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
“Necessity is the mother of invention” is an English-language proverb. It means, roughly, that the primary driving force for most new inventions is a need. When the need for something becomes imperative, you are forced to find ways of getting or achieving it.
Here are some examples of sort of ingenuity we need now in the middle of pandemia. Already many people contributed those efforts. Check out on those links what is already done if you can find any useful information or can contribute to those efforts you see as good idea. Start your reserach with 7 open hardware projects working to solve COVID-19 article.
I have collected here a list of interesting open hardware project and instructions that can be useful or educational. Hopefully this list I have contributed here will be useful for someone. Keep in mind that many of those ideas are potentially dangerous if the instructions are not entirely correct, implemented exactly right and used by people that know what they are doing. You have been warned: Do not try those at home yourself! We are dealing here with things that can easily injure or kill someone if improperly implemented or used – but at right place the best ideas from those could potentially save lives.
Repairing hospital equipment
The right thing to do in his situation is that medical companies to release service manuals for ALL medical equipment so they can be repaired and maintained where they are most needed.
In the face of ventilator shortages for COVID-19 victims, iFixit is looking to make maintaining and repairing equipment as easy as possible. iFixit Launches Central Repository for Hospital Equipment Repair and Maintenance Manuals
https://www.ifixit.com/News/36354/help-us-crowdsource-repair-information-for-hospital-equipment
Site http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com offers links many service manuals
Robotics
COVID-19 pandemic prompts more robot usage worldwide article tells that the coronavirus has increased interest in robots, drones, and artificial intelligence, even as some testing of autonomous vehicles pauses on public roads. It is believed that these technologies can help deal with massive staffing shortages in healthcare, manufacturing, and supply chains; the need for “social distancing;” and diagnosis and treatment.
Here are some robotics related links that could be useful:
Medical robotics expert Guang-Zhong Yang calls for a global effort to develop new types of robots for fighting infectious diseases.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/medical-robots/coronavirus-pandemic-call-to-action-robotics-community
Elements of Robotics Open Access Textbook
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-62533-1
Ventilators
A ventilator is a machine designed to provide mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators are sometimes colloquially called “respirators”.
A ventilator, also called a respirator, is designed to provide mechanical ventilation by oxygen into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. The machines can be used to help a person breath if they have conditions making it difficult to breathe, such as lung diseases, during and post-surgery. For patients critically ill with coronavirus access to a ventilator could be a matter of life or death.
In its simplest form, a modern positive pressure ventilator consists of a compressible air reservoir or turbine, air and oxygen supplies, a set of valves and tubes, and a disposable or reusable “patient circuit”. Modern ventilators are electronically controlled by a small embedded system to allow exact adaptation of pressure and flow characteristics to an individual patient’s needs.
They work by placing a tube in a person’s mouth, nose or small cut in the throat and connect it to a ventilator machine. The air reservoir is pneumatically compressed several times a minute to deliver room-air, or in most cases, an air/oxygen mixture to the patient.
Because failure may result in death, mechanical ventilation systems are classified as a life-critical system, and precautions must be taken to ensure that they are highly reliable. Modern commercial ventilator is a relatively complex piece of equipment with lots of components and a dedicated supply chain.
Because there is a lack of ventilators on many hospitals in several countries, there has been a lot of creative work done to help this problem.
There has been projects going on to repair old and non-working ventilators to a working conditions. For repairing some older devices, there has been problem to get spare parts from the manufacturer and that those spare parts can be very expensive. Also getting the service information for repairing those equipment seems to be hard to get from manufacturer, Ifixit has started a project Help commit industrial espionage for the greater good! to get the service information on-line at https://www.ifixit.com/News/36354/help-us-crowdsource-repair-information-for-hospital-equipment
In middle of the emergency some people have worked on to make their own spare parts when official parts are not available, thus making more devices available. For example a startup 3D-printed emergency breathing valves for COVID-19 patients at an Italian hospital in less than 6 hours. An Italian hospital that ran out of life-saving equipment for coronavirus patients was saved by a ‘hero’ engineer who used cutting-edge technology to design oxygen valves within a matter of hours. At least 10 lives were saved in this way.
So great thinking for 3d printing of valves. Are they sterilized and suitable? 3D printing has been used in numerous cases for medical parts already. Most 3D printing operates at relatively high temperatures and printed objects are actually naturally sterilized when they are made. Anyway the right kind of plastic needs to be selected and the part needs to be built in exactly right way that is works reliably as designed. If they are used and the individual gets worse, does the fact that equipment not medical certified (environment, storage, shipping, etc) put the hospital in additional jeopardy for a lawsuit? All valid questions each medical liability officer will have to address. But if people are going to literally die if you do nothing, then taking a risk with a part that you 3D print seems like an idea that is worth to try.
Links:
A startup 3D-printed emergency breathing valves for COVID-19 patients at an Italian hospital in less than 6 hours
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-italian-hospital-3d-printed-breathing-valves-covid-19-patients-2020-3?r=US&IR=T
https://it.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-manca-la-valvola-per-uno-strumento-di-rianimazione-e-noi-la-stampiamo-in-3d-accade-nellospedale-di-chiari-brescia/
Firm ‘refuses to give blueprint’ for coronavirus equipment that could save lives
https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/16/firm-refuses-give-blueprint-coronavirus-equipment-save-lives-12403815/
3D printed life-saving valves: already a dozen in operation
https://www.embodi3d.com/blogs/entry/436-3d-printed-life-saving-valves-already-a-dozen-in-operation/
Volunteers produce 3D-printed valves for life-saving coronavirus treatments
Volunteers made the valves for about $1
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/17/21184308/coronavirus-italy-medical-3d-print-valves-treatments
Another tried trick is try to use one ventilator with more than one patient. Daily Mail writes that ventilators can be modified to help FOUR coronavirus patients breathe at the same time if the NHS is still critically short of the machines when the outbreak peaks, scientists say. Here are some links to material on using one ventilator to more than one patient:
https://emcrit.org/pulmcrit/split-ventilators/
SAVING 4 PATIENTS WITH JUST 1 VENTILATOR
https://hackaday.com/2020/03/19/saving-4-patients-with-just-1-ventilator/
Here has been work going on in creating an open source ventilator design project. Here are some links to this project and some other DIY ventilator designs.
There’s A Shortage Of Ventilators For Coronavirus Patients, So This International Group Invented An Open Source Alternative That’s Being Tested Next Week
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/03/18/theres-a-shortage-of-ventilators-for-coronavirus-patients-so-this-international-group-invented-an-open-source-alternative-thats-being-tested-next-week/
Open-source Oxygen Concentrator
https://reprapltd.com/open-source-oxygen-concentrator/
https://blog.arduino.cc/2020/03/17/designing-a-low-cost-open-source-ventilator-with-arduino/
https://www.instructables.com/id/The-Pandemic-Ventilator/
Macgyvilator Mk 1 (3-19-2020) – “ventilator” for disasters and/or low resource environments
Macgyvilator Mk 1 is a disaster “ventilator”, a simple apparatus to compress a bag-valve-mask with some control over tidal volume and rate. Constructed quickly and simply using wood, PVC, velcro, common fasteners, and easily sourced and assembled electronic components.
An Arduino based Open Source Ventilator to Fight against COVID-19?
https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/03/21/an-arduino-based-open-source-ventilator-to-fight-against-covid-19/
Low-Cost Open Source Ventilator or PAPR
https://github.com/jcl5m1/ventilator
Low-cost Ventilators
https://procrastineering.blogspot.com/2020/03/low-cost-ventilators.html
Arduino Respirator Prototype (pen source solution from Reesistencia Team, which is undergoing testing)
https://www.facebook.com/official.arduino/videos/2557115014604392/
OxyGEN project
https://oxygen.protofy.xyz
“OxyGEN is an open hardware project to build an emergency mechanism that automates an AMBU type manual ventilator in extreme shortage situations such as the one caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) in some parts of the world.”
NOTE: Take a look at the expression VILI before thinking about trying one of these. It is hard making a ventilator that doesn’t harm the lungs. It is easy to get Ventilator-associated lung injury or die if the ventilator does not work exactly correctly all the time.
Testing for infection
There are many approaches thought to be helpful to finding out if someone is infected or something is contaminated.
Thermal scanners are effective in detecting people who have developed a fever (i.e. have a higher than normal body temperature) because of infection with the new coronavirus. However, they cannot detect people who are infected but are not yet sick with fever (it can take 2-10 days before infected people get the fewer).
Open-Source Collaboration Tackles COVID-19 Testing
https://hackaday.com/2020/03/10/open-source-collaboration-tackles-covid-19-testing/
Low-cost & Open-Source Covid19 Detection kits
https://app.jogl.io/project/118?
This Open Source Device Can Detect Coronavirus on Surfaces
The Chai team has developed a detection test that works with their Open qPCR tool.
https://www.hackster.io/news/this-open-source-device-can-detect-coronavirus-on-surfaces-3da1d7b1c73a
Prevent touching face
It is recommended to stop touching your face to minimize spread of coronavirus and other germs. People touch their faces frequently. They wipe their eyes, scratch their noses, bite their nails and twirl their mustaches.
Not touching your face is a simple way to protect yourself from COVID-19, but it’s not easy. If you can reduce face-touching, you can lower people’s chances of catching COVID-19. Why is it so hard to stop? Face-touching rewards us by relieving momentary discomforts like itches and muscle tension.
If you you want to change, you can try to replace it with a competing response that opposes the muscle movements needed to touch your face. When you feel the urge to touch your face, you can clench your fists, sit on your hands, press your palms onto the tops of your thighs or stretch your arms straight down at your sides. Some sources recommend object manipulation, in which you occupy your hands with something else. You can rub your fingertips, fiddle with a pen or squeeze a stress ball.
Related links:
This pair of Arduino glasses stops you from touching your face
https://blog.arduino.cc/2020/03/10/this-pair-of-arduino-glasses-stops-you-from-touching-your-face/
Don’t Touch Your Face
Don’t touch your face — easy to say, hard to do. This device, worn like a watch, will buzz whenever your hand aims for trouble.
https://www.hackster.io/mike-rigsby/don-t-touch-your-face-e8eac3
Hand sanitizer
Hand sanitizer is a liquid or gel generally used to decrease infectious agents on the hands. It depends on the case if hand washing with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer is preferred. For Covid-19 WHO recommends to wash your hands with soap and water, and dry them thoroughly. Use alcohol-based handrub if you don’t have immediate access to soap and water.
It seems that there are many places where there is shortage of hand sanitizers. This has lead to situation where people have resorted to making their own. Recipes for DIY hand sanitizer are popping all over the internet. A quick search reveals news articles, YouTube how-to’s and step-by-step visual guides. But think twice about joining them — experts are wary and even caution against the idea. The World Health Organization even has an official guide to making hand sanitizer. But it’s intended for populations that do not have clean water or other medical-grade products in place. Don’t try to make your own hand sanitizer just because there’s a shortage from coronavirus.
Can’t get your hands on hand sanitizer? Make your own
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/hand-sanitizer-coronavirus-make-your-own/
Photos show why hand sanitizer doesn’t work as well as soap and water to remove germs
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-photos-why-you-should-wash-hands-with-soap-water-2020-3?amp
Emergency DIY hand sanitizers (read the description)
“Every time a new health incident occurs there’s a rush on hand sanitizers, often causing shops to sell out.
Here’s how to make some simple emergency sanitizers at home, noting that they are not as effective as just washing your hands, and only some viruses can be damaged by simple sanitizers. These options are offered as a last resort when commercial versions are not available.”
“For the alcohol one the higher the percentage of alcohol the better, up to around 70-80%.”
Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer At Home When It’s Sold Out Everywhere
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2020/03/03/make-your-own-hand-sanitizer-at-home-when-its-sold-out-everywhere/
Sanitizing things
With deadly coronavirus spreading worldwide at an alarming speed, personal hygiene has become paramount importance to contain the infection spread further. Mobile phones are known to house several germ, and if you thing they are contaminated, you should maybe disinfect them. The CDC recommends that everyone “clean all “high-touch” surfaces every day” to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
How to Disinfect Your Smartphone article says CDC recommends that for your smartphone you should use 70% rubbing alcohol or alcohol-based disinfectant spray to wipe down the back and sides of your device. For example Apple recently updated its official cleaning advice, so ccording to Apple, it’s now safe to clean your iPhone with disinfecting wipes if you do it correctly. You should not try to spray any liquid to your phone.
The other option is to use a smartphone sanitizer device that cleans using UV rays. Sanitizers that use ultraviolet (UV) rays to kill bacteria and viruses have been around for a while now and they can kill 99% of bacteria in as little as five minutes. However its efficacy hasn’t been tested against nasties like SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. Coronavirus effect: Samsung offers UV-C sanitizing service for Galaxy devices. Samsung is using Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) disinfection technology, which uses of uses short-wavelength ultraviolet (UV-C) light to kill or inactivate bacteria, virus, molds and other pathogenic microorganisms on smartphones.
The UV-C light is capable of destroying nucleic acids and DNA. It will kill many things, but you don’t want that hitting your eye or skin. World Health Organization only states: “UV lamps should not be used to sterilize hands, or other areas of skin as UV radiation can cause skin irritation.”
Here are some UV C related links:
https://www.light-sources.com/blog/killing-bacteria-with-uv-light/
https://russellsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-gtl3-bulb-simple-and-inexpensive.html?m=1
Good UV versus bad UV. All available on eBay.
Protective masks
The protective mask ratings used by hospitals are typically N95, FFP2 or FFP3. FFP2 protection level is 94%. FFP3 protection level is 99%. N95 protection level is 95%. An N95 FFR is a type of respirator which removes particles from the air that are breathed through it. These respirators filter out at least 95% of very small (0.3 micron) particles. N95 FFRs are capable of filtering out all types of particles, including bacteria and viruses. The N95 mask is mainly for use if you already have the virus to keep it from spreading and many have argued that coronavirus is smaller than the 0.3 micron filter rating of the mask and thus, not that helpful, for people outside of healthcare. In fact, the U.S. Surgeon General wants consumers to stop buying masks.
Due to the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, there has been a huge shortage of N95 masks. Promoting simple do-it-yourself masks: an urgent intervention for COVID-19 mitigation claims that widespread use of masks by the general population could be an effective strategy for slowing down the spread of COVID-19: “Since surgical masks might not become available in sufficient numbers quickly enough for general use and sufficient compliance with wearing surgical masks might not be possible everywhere, we argue that simple do-it-yourself designs or commercially available cloth masks could reduce the spread of infection at minimal costs to society”.
With masks sold out during the coronavirus outbreak, many people will have to make do with what some scientists have called “the last resort”: the DIY mask. Many people have been working on designs for a DIY mask that may be able to protect those who haven’t been able to secure their own masks. It seems that cotton homemade masks may be quite effective as alternatives and there are also other ideas. For any DIY ideas, be warned that there is no guarantee that those designs are effective. So I don’t recommend to use them as alternative to proper mask when they are available. Bit of proper marks are not available, they can be better than nothing.
Keep in mind the right filter type to use: Hepa filters do have the ability to filter particles and viruses, but they wont protect you 100% of the time. The real secret is layers. The problem is, more layers, more restriction. Keep in mind that charcoal filters will make your air fresher, but have almost no effect on cleaning the air of viruses. Coronavirus virions (or ‘particles’) are spherical particles with diameters of approximately 125 nm (0.125 microns). The smallest particles are 0.06 microns, and the largest are 0.14 microns. This means coronavirus particles are smaller than PM2.5 particles, but bigger than some dust particles and gases.
General information:
Guide to Dust Mask Ratings
https://www.seton.co.uk/your-guide-to-dust-masks-ratings
Can Masks Protect People from The Coronavirus?
https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/coronavirus-pollution-masks-n95-surgical-mask/
Hengityksensuojaimet
https://www.tays.fi/fi-FI/Ohjeet/Infektioiden_torjunta/Mikrobikohtaiset_ohjeet/Hengityksensuojaimet(51207)
DIY project links:
Homemade N95 Masks In A Time Of Shortage
https://hackaday.com/2020/03/18/homemade-n95-masks-in-a-time-of-shortage/
“According to a studied performed at Cambridge University during the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, while surgical masks perform the best at capturing Bacillus atrophaeus bacteria (0.93-1.25 microns) and Bacteriophage MS virus (0.023 microns), vacuum cleaner bags, tea towels, and cotton T-shirts were not too far behind. The coronavirus is 0.1-0.2 microns, well within the range for the results of the tests.”
What Are The Best Materials for Making DIY Masks?
https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-face-mask-virus/
“Data shows that DIY and homemade masks are effective at capturing viruses. But if forced to make our own mask, what material is best suited to make a mask? As the coronavirus spread around China, netizens reported making masks with tissue paper, kitchen towels, cotton clothing, and even oranges!”
Can DIY Masks Protect Us from Coronavirus?
https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/diy-homemade-mask-protect-virus-coronavirus/
“DIY masks to protect against from viruses sounds like a crazy idea. Data shows masks work incredibly well, and they’re also really cheap. Surgical masks cost a few pennies, and they’re capable of filtering out 80% of particles down to 0.007 microns (14 times smaller than the coronavirus).”
“The homemade cotton masks captured 50% of 0.02-1 micron particles, compared with 80% for the surgical mask. Although the surgical masks captured 30% more particles, the cotton masks did surprisingly well. The researchers concluded that homemade masks would be better than nothing.”
“The Cambridge data shows that homemade masks made using cotton t-shirts can filter out some particles that are 0.02–1 microns in size. That’s pretty good, however its only one test.”
Professional and Home-Made Face Masks Reduce Exposure to Respiratory Infections among the General Population
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440799/
Can Masks Protect People from The Coronavirus?
https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/coronavirus-pollution-masks-n95-surgical-mask/
This old hack doesn’t require any cutting or sewing:
http://how2dostuff.blogspot.com/2005/11/how-to-make-ninja-mask-out-of-t-shirt.html
Copper 3D makes the free N95 mask design to fight COVID-19 pandemic spread
https://3dprintingcenter.net/2020/03/18/copper-3d-makes-the-free-n95-mask-design-to-fight-covid-19-pandemic-spread/?fbclid=IwAR2iXJD5ybU8ReADakvCyDKsfzuRDOBEWxZ3ACCjZoz2dKNwvy07htUhon4
“Copper 3D – A Chilean manufacturer of innovative antibacterial filaments designed the own version of the popular N95 protective mask and prepared it perfectly optimized for 3D printing on desktop 3D printers of the FDM / FFF type. The project is released under an open-source license and has been simultaneously patent pending to prevent other entities from commercializing it.”
“Copper 3D team quickly got to work on developing the patent for a model similar to a standard N95 mask but with some peculiarities (Antiviral, Reusable, Modular, Washable, Recyclable, Low-Cost), which were completely designed in a digital environment so that it could be downloaded anywhere in the world and 3D printed with any FDM/FFF equipment, even a low cost one. The mask was called “NanoHack”.”
#HackThePandemic site offers the technical details of the N95 mask and download set of STL files for printing on own 3D printer
https://copper3d.com/HACKTHEPANDEMIC/
SaltMask
https://robots-everywhere.com/re_wiki/pub/web/Cookbook.SaltMask.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep39956
“This is NOT a straight replacement for a N95 mask. In a real emergency it is recommended to combine a full face shield with a filter mask.”
Prusa Protective Face Shield – RC2
https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/25857-prusa-protective-face-shield-rc1
“In a real emergency it is recommended to combine a full face shield with a filter mask.”
Promoting simple do-it-yourself masks: an urgent intervention for COVID-19 mitigation
https://medium.com/@matthiassamwald/promoting-simple-do-it-yourself-masks-an-urgent-intervention-for-covid-19-mitigation-14da4100f429
“Since surgical masks might not become available in sufficient numbers quickly enough for general use and sufficient compliance with wearing surgical masks might not be possible everywhere, we argue that simple do-it-yourself designs or commercially available cloth masks could reduce the spread of infection at minimal costs to society”
“Potentially, simply wrapping a suitable, large cloth around the face is easy to implement (Fig. 2), would arguably be more socially acceptable than surgical masks, and would be superior to a complete lack of face mask use.”
1,350 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
This <$10 digital stethoscope can be paired with phones or computers — and a corresponding Android app — to detect various breathing sequences via AI sound recognition.
COVID-19 Open-Source Innovation: AI Digital Stethoscope
https://sgtechcentre.undp.org/content/sgtechcentre/en/home/blogs/covid19-open-source-innovation-ai-digital-stethoscope.html
The COVID-19 Detect and Protect Challenge is crowdsourcing open-source hardware innovations to tackle the disease. Every one of the 300+ innovations submitted is made freely available, with all instructions needed for others to build them. Here, we talk to Peter Ma and the MixPose team behind the AI Digital Stethoscope.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using a laser, a smartphone camera, and some machine learning, Duke University researchers have developed a way to quantify how well masks block droplets.
Duke University’s Smartphone-Based Face Mask Tests Reveals the Fabrics That Don’t Block COVID-19
https://www.hackster.io/news/duke-university-s-smartphone-based-face-mask-tests-reveals-the-fabrics-that-don-t-block-covid-19-770f1d49e8a4
Using a laser, a smartphone camera, and some machine learning, researchers have developed a way to quantify how well masks block droplets.
Researchers at Duke University have created a low-cost smartphone-based system for measuring the efficacy of homemade facemasks at filtering droplets created during breathing and speech — and have discovered that some materials make matters worse, rather than better.
One thing that remains up in the air, however, is just how effective these masks are at filtering the droplets created by breathing and speech and which are responsible for transmitting the virus. That’s where the research by Duke University comes in: a simple, low-cost system for testing the efficacy of uncertified masks.
“It is assumed that wearing such masks reduces the likelihood for an infected person to spread the disease, but many of these mask designs have not been tested in practice.”
“We have demonstrated a simple optical measurement method to evaluate the efficacy of masks to reduce the transmission of respiratory droplets during regular speech. In proof-of-principle studies, we compared a variety of commonly available mask types and observed that some mask types approach the performance of standard surgical masks, while some mask alternatives, such as neck fleece or bandanas, offer very little protection. Our measurement setup is inexpensive and can be built and operated by non-experts, allowing for rapid evaluation of mask performance during speech, sneezing, or coughing.”
The system is relatively simple: a laser, spread into a flat beam, is captured by the camera on a low-cost smartphone. As a mask-wearer speaks, the droplets that escape the mask disrupt the beam — and each disruption is counted by a machine-learning algorithm, providing a quantifiable measurement as to how effective each mask is at stopping them.
The team’s work, which can be replicated for around $200 in parts, has been published under open access terms in the journal Science Advances.
Low-cost measurement of facemask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/07/sciadv.abd3083
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://blog.arduino.cc/2020/08/05/arduino-x-ray-imaging-phantom-simulates-lung-movement/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartipresence Is a Cardboard Telepresence Robot
Ross Atkin’s DIY kit makes telepresence easy and affordable
https://www.hackster.io/news/smartipresence-is-a-cardboard-telepresence-robot-9277a742c264
Ross Atkin and team are now crowdfunding an inexpensive DIY telepresence robot called Smartipresence.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rossatkin/smartipresence-cardboard-telepresence-robot
Tomi Engdahl says:
A #Bluetooth bracelet system #design can send data to a server and detect proximity to perform contact tracing for #COVID19 Silicon Labs
System design considerations for contact-tracing Bluetooth bracelets
https://www.edn.com/system-design-considerations-for-contact-tracing-bluetooth-bracelets/?utm_content=buffer5dad0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=edn_facebook&utm_campaign=buffer
Governments and organizations in quest of strategies to manage the COVID-19 pandemic are deploying a wide variety of technological solutions. One technology that has been gaining a lot of traction is Bluetooth contact tracing. This wireless protocol is ubiquitous, cost-effective, and simple to use.
Initially, developers were utilizing smartphone Bluetooth technology to perform contact tracing, but this approach proved problematic as not everybody in the world has (and operates) a smartphone. The alternative to smartphones are Bluetooth bracelets, which can be as cheap as a few dollars, making them affordable to large populations. Bracelets also provide a privacy advantage over smartphones
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/31/sanitizer-dispenser-does-it-hands-free/
Tomi Engdahl says:
American Airlines Bans Masks with Exhaust Valves and Vents
https://kokpitherald.com/american-airlines-new-masks-policy/
American Airlines has announced that masks with exhaust valves or vents will no longer be allowed on American Airlines.
Effective Aug. 19, 2020, and following the most recent recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), face coverings with exhausts valves or vents will no longer be allowed for travel with American Airlines. The CDC notes that face coverings with one-way valves or vents allow exhaled air to be expelled through holes in the material. These can allow exhaled respiratory droplets to reach others and potentially spread the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Allowed:
A well-secured cloth or mask that fits snugly against the face and covers an individual’s nose and mouth. It must be made of a material that prevents the discharge and release of respiratory droplets from a person’s nose or mouth.
Not allowed:
Face coverings with exhaust valves.
Face coverings made with materials such as mesh or lace fabrics.
Face coverings that do not cover the nose and mouth.
Face shields without the addition of a face covering.
Only children under the age of 2 are exempt from American’s face covering policy. Customers without an approved face covering will be provided with an approved one, upon request, at the airport. Face coverings can only be briefly removed while the customer is eating or drinking.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Erich Styger’s DIY portable video conference features a camera, speakerphone, and muting device, all in a laser-cut wooden box.
Everything You Need for Video Conferencing in a Single Platform
https://www.hackster.io/news/everything-you-need-for-video-conferencing-in-a-single-platform-fe49a1df0c2a
Erich Styger’s DIY portable video conference features a camera, speakerphone, and muting device, all in a laser-cut wooden box.
With the pandemic still going strong, more people are working and learning from home. To that end, most home video setups use multiple components to converse with others — including cameras, microphones, and speakers. One of the more useful features in some setups are mute buttons, which allow users to cut video and sound when needed quickly. One of the drawbacks to these systems is they’re not exactly portable. While smartphones can handle video conferencing tasks, they can’t replace the advantages of a full setup in terms of video quality and sound clarity.
The DIY portable video conference device measures just 290 x 150 x 40mm and is outfitted with a single USB port and a four-port hub that connects an 8MP auto-focus USB camera module, Jabra Speak 410, and speaker. It also packs a tinyK20 microcontroller, NXP K20DX128 MCU, and handy mute buttons that kill audio and video streams.
Styger’s unit works in tandem with a laptop. It uses a pair of aluminum rods to position the camera, allowing others to see him and to display a whiteboard or documents needed during meetings.
https://mcuoneclipse.com/2020/08/07/diy-portable-video-conference-sharing-and-teaching-device/amp/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Can #wearables help detect #COVID19 cases? Learn more about the devices NBA & WNBA players were offered to track virus indicators OURA https://buff.ly/2PIEgJo
Tomi Engdahl says:
Designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Intangible Surface is a gesture-based touchless interface for interacting with the digital world: https://bit.ly/3kxx5Sm
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kasvomaskien puhdistukseen liittyy monia harhaluuloja, sanoo VTT:n tutkimusprofessori – nämä kahdeksan asiaa jokaisen maskia käyttävän on syytä tietää
https://www.hs.fi/hyvinvointi/art-2000006600431.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
UV light of certain wavelngth can kill virus and other pathogens on Water, surfaces or even in air.
https://www.gadgetronicx.com/uv-disinfectant-lamp-powered-solar-power/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This $1 digital stethoscope uses AI to detect and analyze respiratory symptoms, which can enable doctors to diagnose COVID-19 remotely.
https://www.hackster.io/mixpose/digital-stethoscope-ai-1e0229
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lääkärin kysymys paljastaa, millainen koronariski olet ollut muille – Asiantuntija kertoo, mitä altistumisesta juuri nyt tiedetään
Koronaviruksen leviämisestä ei tiedetä vielä kaikkea. Asiantuntijat kannustavat kuitenkin varovaisuuteen, etäisyyden pitämiseen ja maskin käyttöön.
https://www.hs.fi/hyvinvointi/art-2000006601715.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
NHS tests COVID-19 contact-tracing app that may actually work properly – EU neighbors lent a helping hand
Not just Germany stepping up to the plate – Ireland, too, we’re told
https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/14/nhs_tracing_app_irish/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Turkulaistutkimus: Ilmanvaihdolla voidaan suojata ihmisiä mahdolliselta virustartunnalta
https://www.ts.fi/uutiset/paikalliset/5035238/Turkulaistutkimus+Ilmanvaihdolla+voidaan+suojata+ihmisia+mahdolliselta+virustartunnalta
Tomi Engdahl says:
Covid-19 Tech Diary: Design Specs for Tackling The Pandemic
https://www.eetimes.com/covid-19-tech-diary-design-specs-for-tackling-the-pandemic/
Has the electronics industry done enough tackling the pandemic? How have design engineers responded to Covid-19? The spread of the virus has renewed calls for technology innovation. Whither the tech industry and its cutting-edge technology innovations? critics ask.
The semiconductor industry is nothing without innovation. Critics are missing the point: The semiconductor industry operates on design cycles, which are continually shrinking. But nothing can be designed and taped out overnight.
On the other end of the spectrum, misconceptions have reached the tech industry’s doorstep. Take, for example, false claims about an RFID chip being implanted into a Covid-19 vaccine. A TikTok clip uploaded on YouTube suggested a chip could be implanted on a human finger to log-in to a computer or activate a vending machine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2020/08/08/suomalaisyritykselta-henkilokohtainen-ilmanpuhdistin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Heading back to the office? Watchzi is a simple social distancing device for your desk.
COVID-19 Simple Friendly Social Distance Robot Watchzi © GPL3+
https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/draakje156/covid-19-simple-friendly-social-distance-robot-watchzi-8f2268
Watchzi measure the distance between it and the approaching persons, gives warning with light and sound when 1.5 meters is exceeded.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gatekeeper, a thermal imaging elevated skin temperature-detection system, can screen several people at the same time.
Startup’s Thermal Imaging and AR System for Firefighters Joins the COVID-19 Fight
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-institute/ieee-member-news/startups-thermal-imaging-and-ar-system-for-firefighters-joins-the-covid19-fight
Before the coronavirus pandemic hit Canada, Enzo Jia was busy developing the Fusion Vision System, an augmented-reality (AR) visor with thermal imaging to help firefighters see through smoke.
In the months before the pandemic, the company had developed a prototype of its Fusion Vision System and had demonstrated it to several fire departments.
When COVID-19 began spreading throughout Canada, Jia and his colleagues realized they could use some of the same technologies to combat the spread of the virus, so they began a side project. To detect a high body temperature, which is a common symptom of COVID-19, the startup used components from the visor to build Gatekeeper, a thermal-imaging system. Gatekeeper can be mounted on a wall or tripod to measure body temperature of up to five people at once.
Several units have been installed in long-term-care facilities, grocery stores, and universities, Jia says.
Tomi Engdahl says:
For the #COVID19DetectProtect Challenge, Eivind Holt designed a LoRaWAN-enabled device to aid in monitoring at-risk patients remotely using The Things Network, Microsoft Azure IoT Central, openEHR, FHIR and the Google Cloud Healthcare API.
https://www.hackster.io/eivholt/global-scale-remote-health-monitor-4d9064
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coronavirus Cases Drop 46% In Parts Of S. Carolina With Mask Mandates Compared To Areas Without
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/08/12/coronavirus-cases-drop-46-in-parts-of-s-carolina-with-mask-mandates-compared-to-areas-without/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Gordie/#676f7264696
Data continue to show that mask mandates help control the spread of coronavirus, with the latest example coming from South Carolina, where the state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Wednesday that parts of the state under public mask-wearing mandates registered a 46.3% drop in coronavirus cases in the four weeks after they were introduced compared to areas of the state that are not.
Around 60% of South Carolinians do not live in an area with a mask mandate, according to the state.
Most of the state’s population centers, like Charleston, Columbia and Greenville, do have mandates in place.
Tomi Engdahl says:
4 #design venues to watch in the fight against #COVID19
#sensors #AI #wearables #TemperatureMeasurement Siemens Sensiml Corp https://buff.ly/3fZnVe2
Read the whole AspenCore #SpecialProject on how #engineers are tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
4 design venues to watch in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
https://www.edn.com/4-design-venues-to-watch-in-the-fight-against-the-covid-19-pandemic/?utm_content=buffer04782&utm_medium=social&utm_source=edn_facebook&utm_campaign=buffer
How do design solutions targeted at tackling the COVID-19 pandemic look? How do they make use of the existing hardware and software building blocks? Where does the actual design innovation lie? This article provides some answers in a rapidly evolving design landscape built to combat this pandemic.
While many engineers are now busy building systems that can identify community spreads to prevent large outbreaks, their efforts encompass four major design venues. Here is sneak peek into this brand-new design ecosystem built around the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
1) Social distancing automated
Start with social distancing, where engineers are trying to develop people counters for places like retail stores by combining photoelectric proximity sensors with miniature programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Here, while proximity sensors detect the direction of movement, PLCs can calculate the number of people in and out of the store in real-time.
2) COVID-19 testing with cameras
Coronavirus testing is a major challenge for healthcare organizations around the globe, and a lot is going on in this space, especially for finding efficient ways for contactless temperature measurements carried out in an automated fashion.
3) Pre-diagnostic screening
Engineers are also busy acquiring cough sound samples from volunteers and analyzing the datasets to identify unique cough patterns associated with COVID-19 infections. That allows system designers to create pre-diagnostic screening mechanisms that can help slow the spread of the virus.
4) Wireless patches for contact tracing
The wearable self-monitoring solutions are going to be critical in contact tracing and exposure notification systems. That, first and foremost, calls for low-cost temperature sensing chips.
The wireless temperature sensing tags based on such chips, for example, can be paired to a mobile device and integrated into contact-tracing apps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Seeed Studio Wio Terminal project combines PIR detection, thermal imaging, and gesture recognition for contactless temperature monitoring.
https://www.hackster.io/rei-vilo/contactless-temperature-monitor-6fa25f
Tomi Engdahl says:
”For at least a decade, introvert activists have been calling for a revolution: remake the extrovert-dominated workplace. Stop penalising the third of us who don’t fit the loud, highly sociable ideal fostered by open-plan offices; create a more inclusive culture equally suited to those who work better alone, with less outside stimulation. Then came the pandemic and many of us had to work from home. The 2020 “office” suddenly looked like the answer to an introvert-employee manifesto. It would be a chance to play to our strengths.”
Is 2020 the year of the introvert?
https://www.ft.com/content/f8ceffe7-cc89-4d95-975e-6142924a33b8?shareType=nongift
Working from home plays to the strengths of those of us who find offices noisy and conflict-filled
For at least a decade, introvert activists have been calling for a revolution: remake the extrovert-dominated workplace. Stop penalising the third of us who don’t fit the loud, highly sociable ideal fostered by open-plan offices; create a more inclusive culture equally suited to those who work better alone, with less outside stimulation.
Then came the pandemic and many of us had to work from home. The 2020 “office” suddenly looked like the answer to an introvert-employee manifesto. It would be “a chance to play to our strengths”. Five months on, how is the year of the introvert working out?
At first it felt unsettling. “Introverts recharge their batteries by being alone,”
Yet for introverts anxious about public speaking, it can also be helpful. You may feel less anxious addressing big groups when you’re in your own space secretly wearing your slippers. I do. Which is why I’ve accepted online speaking invitations I would have dodged otherwise.
WFH meetings have been a revelation. An introvert-friendly etiquette has evolved. For the first time it is perfectly acceptable to say nothing unless you have something constructive to contribute. In fact, it’s encouraged in the name of efficiency. This is a relief compared to real life, where it can feel like making your voice heard at any cost is rewarded. Noa Herz, a neuroscientist and a neuropsychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, has written about how this can disadvantage introverts — who tend to listen closely and chip in only with ideas they consider worth sharing. Herz’s description of a culture where “each participant contributes thoughts in a disorganised, dominance-based manner” calls to mind far too many unproductive, uncomfortable gatherings.
In March, when many of us were still new to all this, my team leader shared tips to help things run smoothly. Simple signalling systems — a stress-free way to show you have something to share — have been a game-changer. Type “hat” in the chat box if you want to say something, she said. If it’s urgent, type “top hat”.
You can just as easily raise a hand or turn your mic on or off. Even better, via the chat box, you can contribute without speaking at all.
Also invaluable for softer-spoken people in a culture that rewards loudness: the levelling power of the volume control.
Together, all this has ended the scourge of the introvert: dominant colleagues cutting other people off or ignoring them. In an online room, everyone waits their turn.
In theory, that is. Badly run online meetings can be as much of a bear pit as analogue ones.
Similarly, working from home is often held up as a calmer, pro-introvert alternative to the notoriously distracting open plan office. But the insulating power of those noise-cancelling headphones turns out to be just as essential at home for keeping domestic sounds at bay (rubbish lorries, a locked-down teenage neighbour with a keen interest in afrobeats).
And what about the lack of workplace camaraderie? Soon after we were all sent home, my super-sociable work friend raised a concern: “Won’t you miss your colleagues?” For introverts, who do their best work alone, this is not necessarily a problem. And it turns out I see my teammates every day at our online morning meeting.
“Won’t you feel lonely?” It might sound odd but, typically for a solitude loving introvert, I’m not sure I understand the question.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Don’t Want to Wear a Mask? Allen Pan’s Cannon Will Shoot One Onto Your Face
https://www.hackster.io/news/don-t-want-to-wear-a-mask-allen-pan-s-cannon-will-shoot-one-onto-your-face-53ca71b6ee4d
Many people are refusing to wear face masks, so the YouTuber came up with his own solution for this problem.
There are a lot of things you can do to protect yourself from COVID-19 and to help prevent its spread among the population. One of the most effective ways to do that is to wear a face mask when you’re out in public. That will keep you from breathing or expelling droplets that could contain the coronavirus. Unfortunately, many people are refusing to wear masks, which is why YouTuber Allen Pan created a cannon to shoot masks at people’s faces.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=pa6BlJlrL-k
Tomi Engdahl says:
Open-Source Platform for Smart Ventilators/Respirators Enters COVID Battle
https://www.electronicdesign.com/covid-19/whitepaper/21137550/opensource-platform-for-smart-ventilatorsrespirators-joins-the-war-on-covid?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200810025&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
In this review of Trinamic’s open-source hardware/software platform for respirators and other medical equipment, you’ll find out about the power system that drives it, what the platform is good for, and how it stacks up against the others.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.electronicdesign.com/covid-19/article/21129366/fighting-covid19-engineers-answer-the-call
Tomi Engdahl says:
Semiconductors are Vital to COVID-19 Testing
https://www.electronicdesign.com/covid-19/article/21133806/semiconductors-are-vital-to-covid19-testing
Originally developed for U.S. Army aircraft countermeasures, breakthrough nanocarbon material addresses the sensitivity, speed, cost, and manufacturing scalability associated with the presently available SARS-CoV2 testing devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
COVID-19 Medical Device Shortages and What the Industry Is Doing About It
FDA provided a list of medical device shortages during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.mddionline.com/covid-19/covid-19-medical-device-shortages-and-what-industry-doing-about-it?ADTRK=InformaMarkets&elq_mid=14117&elq_cid=876648
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rebecca Heilweil / Vox:
A look at Remark Holdings, supplying 100+ Chinese schools, and a Las Vegas school, with AI-powered thermal imaging tech to monitor COVID-19 safety compliance — This fall, AI could be watching students social distance and checking their masks. — Thousands of schools nationwide will not be reopening this fall.
The dystopian tech that companies are selling to help schools reopen sooner
https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/8/14/21365300/artificial-intelligence-ai-school-reopening-technology-covid-19?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
This fall, AI could be watching students social distance and checking their masks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/15/the-mask-launcher-like-an-airbag-for-your-face/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Imagine a low-cost, Arduino-based device that could detect a handful of COVID-19 viral particles: https://bit.ly/3gchtk4
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/dnhkng/the-pocket-lamp-illuminating-sars-cov-2-3a1d17
Tomi Engdahl says:
Engineers in Rio de Janeiro are repairing ventilators used to treat COVID-19 patients.
Engineers in Rio de Janeiro Roll Up Their Sleeves to Repair Ventilators
https://spectrum.ieee.org/news-from-around-ieee/the-institute/ieee-member-news/engineers-in-rio-de-janeiro-roll-up-their-sleeves-to-repair-ventilators
Volunteers from the IEEE Rio de Janeiro Section and others are fighting the COVID-19 outbreak by repairing broken mechanical ventilators used in public hospitals. Ventilators are commonly used to treat COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory distress. There are simply not enough professionals available to repair the equipment in the short time frame due to the large demand for machines, says Yuri Bastos Gabrich, one of the IEEE members working on the Engineers Assisting Ventilator Maintenance project.
Tomi Engdahl says:
With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, a team from MIT developed an open source wearable hand sanitization device that you can build yourself.
This MIT-Designed Wearable Hand Sanitizer Dispenser Will Keep You Germ Free
https://www.hackster.io/news/this-mit-designed-wearable-hand-sanitizer-dispenser-will-keep-you-germ-free-0c4ad72e6f6e
With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, a team from MIT developed an open source wearable hand sanitization device that you can build yourself.
Tomi Engdahl says:
We might soon have a “molecular PPE”—a breathable mist that puts the coronavirus in a straitjacket—that is available over the counter.
Artificial Antibodies Bolster Hope for Inhaled Coronavirus Treatment
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/covid19-aeronabs
Researchers have developed an inhalable artificial coronavirus antibody that they say “straitjackets” the SARS-CoV-2 virus and appears (in laboratory, albeit still non-clinical, tests) to impede its ability to infect.
These early tests, they say, suggest the new therapy is potent and powerful enough to merit clinical trials. The ultimate goal, the researchers insist, would be to make it directly available to consumers, possibly even as an over-the-counter home therapy or preventative measure. They say this inhalable COVID prophylaxis/treatment could ideally be ready for public release as soon as “a matter of months.”
The protein they’ve developed, called mNb6-tri (which they’ve dubbed “AeroNabs”), clamps efficiently and tenaciously atop the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, hindering the coronavirus’s ability to infect human cells. And, so far as the researchers have been able to determine, once mNb6-tri locks on to the spike protein, it doesn’t readily come off. That appears to be great news for everyone but the coronavirus.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NEMA Publishes COVID-19 Guide for Disinfecting Electrical Equipment
https://www.pumpsandsystems.com/nema-publishes-covid-19-guide-disinfecting-electrical-equipment
COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfecting Guidance for Electrical Equipment
https://www.nema.org/Standards/view/COVID-19-Cleaning-and-Disinfecting-Guidance-for-Electrical-Equipment?utm_content=bufferc4818&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Tomi Engdahl says:
As the work-from-home experiment stretches on, some cracks are starting to emerge: Projects take longer, collaboration is harder and training new workers is a struggle. “There’s sort of an emerging sense behind the scenes of executives saying, ‘This is not going to be sustainable.’”
Companies Start to Think Remote Work Isn’t So Great After All
https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-start-to-think-remote-work-isnt-so-great-after-all-11595603397?mod=e2fb
Projects take longer. Collaboration is harder. And training new workers is a struggle. ‘This is not going to be sustainable.’
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voted the #COVID19DetectProtect Challenge community choice winner, P3psi is an Internet-controlled 4WD rover that can transport emergency supplies like groceries and medicines to infected patients.
P3psi, a Web-Driven COVID-19 Carrier Robot
https://www.hackster.io/343328/p3psi-a-web-driven-covid-19-carrier-robot-eab65a
A 4-wheeled rover to transport emergency supplies to infected people without any risk, thanks to an over-4G Flask joypad control and camera.
Tomi Engdahl says:
In a Touch-Free World, the QR Code Is Having Its Moment
Once dismissed as a marketing gimmick, the black and white patterns are proving their worth during the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.wired.com/story/in-a-touch-free-world-the-qr-code-is-having-its-moment/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bluetooth SIG working to make wearables work as COVID-19 contact-trackers
Don’t rush out to buy hardware, this is months from deployment
https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/19/bluetooth_sig_wearable_contact_tracing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
WHO Blasts ‘Vaccine Nationalism’ in Last-Ditch Push Against Hoarding
https://science.slashdot.org/story/20/08/18/1929206/who-blasts-vaccine-nationalism-in-last-ditch-push-against-hoarding?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Tomi Engdahl says:
We might soon have a “molecular PPE”—a breathable mist that puts the coronavirus in a straitjacket—that is available over the counter.
Artificial Antibodies Bolster Hope for Inhaled Coronavirus Treatment
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/covid19-aeronabs
Tomi Engdahl says:
The concept of ‘T Cell Immunity’ is starting to become widely discussed on social media. Here’s what it means—and what it doesn’t—when it comes to Covid-19.
Why ‘T Cell Immunity’ Won’t End The Coronavirus Pandemic
http://on.forbes.com/6188Gl0gs
A bounty of new studies on immune cells and Covid-19 are the inspiration for the latest misinterpretation of Covid-19 research currently infecting social media, particularly among political supporters of President Trump.
And when it comes to this disease, “less severe” may just mean “not immediately hospitalized.” A recent study in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that some people who tested positive for Covid-19, but had mild or even no symptoms had myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart that can lead to serious damage or even heart attacks. Which shows that many of the dangers of Covid-19 are still unknown.
T cells are hyper-specialized white blood cells, with each type of T cell taking on a specific role during the course of infection. Some T cells kill invading cells directly, while other T cells help activate B cells and stimulate them to make antibodies. Still others become “memory cells,” which patrol the body for years after the initial infection to prevent reinfection from previously defeated viruses or bacteria. If these memory cells encounter a past foe, an immune response is activated. Certain types of B cells can also be memory cells, and quickly pump out antibodies if a recognized pathogen returns.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Community Opening Doors Hands-Free Amid COVID
https://www.designnews.com/industry/diy-community-opening-doors-hands-free-amid-covid?ADTRK=InformaMarkets&elq_mid=14177&elq_cid=876648
A group of Makers in Jersey City created a prize-winning, 3D printed watch accessory to open doors in a COVID-19 hands-free manner.
The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the world. One bright spot in this crisis has been the response of the do-it-yourself (DIY) tech community as exemplified by the Jersey City Rapid Maker Response Group (JCRMRG).
In April 2020, the group’s future founder Justin Handsman placed a simple post on Reddit calling for volunteers to help him make 3D-printed face shields. The rest, as they say, is history.
On June 22, JCRMRG – in partnership with United Way of Hudson County – announced a community-focused health hackathon to create much needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Roughly one month later, 30+ teams from across the US and around the world came together to participated in a virtual Make-like event to tackle manufacturing, sustainability, and supply chain challenges related to healthcare and PPEs. The health hackathon incorporated leaders in the tech, manufacturing, and 3D-printing communities.
The results were impressive. According to the website, one hundred hackers from around the world participated, along with students from local universities like NJIT, Rutgers, and Stevens. Hackers came up with solutions to keep people COVID free and help citizens and businesses adapt to a COVID world. The competition focused on key challenges around sustainability and manufacturing. Many of the teams implemented solutions that utilized 3D printing and additive manufacturing processes.
The winning hack submissions were announced on July 16th. The top three winning teams received recognition as well as cash prizes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A wearable bracelet #design consists of a #Bluetooth SoC, an antenna, a coin-cell battery, and the #software that enables it to do its work Silicon Labs #ContactTracing #location
Hardware and software for building contact-tracing Bluetooth bracelets
https://www.edn.com/hardware-and-software-for-building-contact-tracing-bluetooth-bracelets/?utm_content=buffercb0ef&utm_medium=social&utm_source=edn_facebook&utm_campaign=buffer
A simple bracelet hardware design consists of a Bluetooth system-on-chip (SoC), an antenna, and a coin-cell battery. The SoC is the heart of the bracelet, responsible for performing necessary computations on collected data and operating the Bluetooth radio for communication with a gateway or a smartphone to connect to the server. Its vital role makes the choice of SoC critical to the rest of the design.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The app Coready! can help you maintain social distancing.
Social Distancing: Here’s
https://spectrum.ieee.org/news-from-around-ieee/the-institute/ieee-products-services/social-distancing-heres-an-app-for-that
One of the safety measures recommended since the beginning of the pandemic is for people to maintain a distance of at least six feet (1.5 meters) from each other. But many of us can’t eyeball the distance on our own.
To help, IEEE Graduate Student Member Trushal Sardhara and other students from various universities in India have developed the mobile app Coready! It prompts its users to maintain social distancing by alerting them when they get too close to each other.
We were inspired to create the mobile app—Coready!—by the Nudge Theory, developed by behavioral economist Richard Thaler [The theory suggests that positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions can influence the behavior and decision making of groups or individuals.] Coready! can help protect people from contracting the virus by nudging the user when someone else [nearby] with the app is failing to maintain [a safe distance].
What technologies are you using?
Coready! uses Bluetooth Low Energy [BLE] technology to [track] if someone, who also had the app installed on their phone, is in the vicinity of the user. The mobile app continuously transmits a unique identifier using BLE technology. Other mobile devices [with the app] that come in the vicinity of this signal receive it, identify the signal, and process it in the application.
Explain how your project works.
When another person, who also has Coready! installed on his phone, is within a 1.5-meter radius of the other user, the app sends a notification to his phone as a warning. The distance between users is calculated using the strength of the normalized Bluetooth signal.
The app can also determine whether the user interacts with people outside of his social bubble—who he comes into contact with the most—and violates social distancing. Coready! tracks and keeps a secure log of how many other app users he is coming into contact with and a Social Bubble Score is generated based on the information collected. The size of the user’s social bubble will be directly proportional to the score defined by the mobile app. If the user’s score is high, that means they have an increased chance of contracting the virus.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Engineering Solutions May Work Better On Coronavirus Than Social Ones
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2020/08/11/engineering-solutions-may-be-better-for-coronavirus-than-social-ones/
Fighting the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has not gone well. If you’re a political junkie, this pandemic’s spread has demonstrated the failure of political leadership – not shutting down travel early enough, dismantling the pandemic office, not invoking the defense authorization act, not putting a national mask-mandate in place, and generally not believing in medical science.
However, there is an alternative explanation than a simple left-right narrative. Political solutions fail to account for American culture. Using social controls, like social distancing and mask use, to slow the spread of the virus until we find the vaccine has two glaring problems.
First, Americans are not good at following rules. The countries that have been the most successful at fighting Covid-19 follow the rules—either by a government willing to inforce strict rules, like China or strong cultural norms, like South Korea, Japan and northern Europe
Second, the strategy is based on detecting who is infected and creating a highly effective vaccine. This usually requires having a one to two-year advanced notice that the virus is coming in order to develop low-cost effective testing strategies and vaccines. This strategy ignores the fact that vaccines are not that good for viruses because viruses evolve around vaccine defenses. And this coronavirus is particularly adaptive.
That is why we have yearly flu shots with an effectiveness between 20% and 60%.
But there is an older solution, one discussed by nuclear engineer Charles Forsberg at MIT. Water-borne epidemics have been stopped over the last hundred years by building clean water and sewer systems. Malaria has been slowed by killing mosquitos that transmit the disease to humans through draining stagnant water, by using window screens and insecticides or rendering them infertile using low levels of radiation.
Engineering solutions are responsible for stopping most pandemics and most of the increases in life expectancies. Engineering solutions to contaminated water did not require social controls such as everyone boiling water before drinking it. Medicines, other medical treatments and vaccines become the backup squad, which is something they’re good at.
Today we have SARS-CoV-2 in its ideal environmental niche that we created for this virus. It was just a question of when such an effective air-borne virus would find its home.
So an engineering fix is needed – clean filtered air so we do not breath in each other’s mucosal particles. The solution does not need to be perfect. It just needs to get the multiplication rate of the virus below one.
It’s no secret how the virus spreads. Air goes horizontally between people – the loading ramp between an airplane and the terminal at airports, from the front of the bus or subway car backward, or down the school hallway. We need filtered air that goes up or down so we each have our own clean air supply in crowded environments and stop breathing each other’s air.
Circulate all the air in the room through filters every few minutes. Airport loading ramps need filtered air going up or down – not going horizontally and spreading the virus as the passengers go from terminal to aircraft. Airplanes already have filters that stop viruses; but the ventilation is designed to mix air over several rows of seats. Cabin mockups have shown how to supply clean filtered air to every passenger with filtered air entering under the seat and exiting above each seat.
Engineering solutions have three significant advantages: (1) they work against all air-borne diseases and not just this particular virus, (2) you do not need to know a year in advance what virus is coming to develop a test and vaccine and (3) tight social controls are not needed, something that this pandemic demonstrated as incompatible with American culture.
And again, a perfect solution is not required. Just reduce the transmission rate between people so less than one new person is infected for every person that has been infected.
It’s time to stop operating the open-air equivalent of untreated sewage flowing down the middle of the street. Engineering solutions can bring this pandemic and all future air-borne pandemics down to size. Then the medical community can cleanup what remains. Demanding such changes now is no different than what we did over a 100 years ago when we decided to build water treatment plants and sewer lines.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, or FIND, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland is currently evaluating 41 rapid COVID-19 tests. So far only one passes muster. “People in low- and middle-income countries often do not have access to laboratories,” says Jilian Sacks, FIND’s COVID-19 Evaluation Programme Lead. “So the ability to have rapid tests, especially outside the hospital and in decentralized settings, is most critical moving forward. But we are seeing that there is a lot of variability in the performance of rapid tests,” she says.
Rapid, Affordable, High Quality COVID Tests Still Scant
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/diagnostics/rapid-affordable-high-quality-covid-tests-still-scant
After nearly six months of scrutinizing the smorgasbord of COVID-19 tests available globally, an independent diagnostics evaluation group has come to some conclusions: The world greatly needs rapid, affordable tests, but the quality of such tests varies widely. By contrast, slow tests that are sent off to laboratories—the kind broadly used in the U.S. and Europe—are performing well.
That’s according to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, or FIND, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. “People in low- and middle-income countries often do not have access to laboratories,” says Jilian Sacks, FIND’s COVID-19 Evaluation Programme Lead. “So the ability to have rapid tests, especially outside the hospital and in decentralized settings, is most critical moving forward. But we are seeing that there is a lot of variability in the performance of rapid tests,” she says.