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:
As COVID-19 Mutates, AI Algorithms Keep Pace
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/ai-predicts-most-potent-covid-19-mutations
Tomi Engdahl says:
We need to do more to protect the environment.
Face Masks And Latex Gloves Have Become A New Environmental Problem
https://www.iflscience.com/environment/face-masks-and-latex-gloves-have-become-a-new-environmental-problem/
The Covid-19 pandemic may have given the planet a temporary, though not long-lasting, breather when it comes to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s also given Earth a new environmental scourge: latex gloves on beaches and sewers filled with face masks.
A number of organizations have raised concerns that oceans, rivers, and sewers are becoming increasingly swamped with disposable face masks, latex gloves, hand sanitizer bottles, and other non-recyclable personal protective equipment (PPE) items as the world continues to grapple with Covid-19.
French ocean conservation group Opération Mer Propre regularly documents its ocean clean-up operations on social media and has reported seeing notably more pieces of PPE in the Mediterranean Sea.
“Very worrying about the new waste related to Covid… We pick [this kind of pollution] up at every clean now, mainly latex gloves,”
“It’s just the beginning and if nothing changes it will become a real ecological disaster and maybe even health [one].”
It isn’t just Europe, or natural environments, that are feeling the burn. A number of city authorities in the US have also reported sewers and stormwater pumping stations becoming clogged with latex gloves and facemasks, which they believe many people are flushing down toilets.
In light of this pollution problem, the US Environmental Protection Agency released a statement telling citizens to properly dispose of PPE. Advice included not putting used disinfectant wipes, gloves, masks, PPE, or any medical waste in recycling bins as they could be contaminated by pathogens and are considered a health hazard. A number of recycling organizations have urged people to dispose of discarded masks and gloves safely by putting them in general refuse. It should also go without saying that littering PPE is gross, inconsiderate, and dangerous, so be sure to safely put used PPE into the appropriate general refuse bin if you’re out in public.
“No one should be leaving used plastic gloves or masks on the ground in a parking lot or tossing them into the bushes,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Face Mask Fogging Up Your Glasses? Here’s What You Can Do About It
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/face-mask-fogging-up-your-glasses-here-s-what-you-can-do-about-it/
The glasses wearers among us have most likely come across a new challenge in the past couple of months: when you strap on your cloth face mask, your glasses instantly fog up. But fear not, there are a few tricks and techniques you can do to avoid this mildly infuriating state.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pragmatic or dangerous – what the experts say about delaying the second coronavirus vaccine dose
Five things you need to know about: Delaying the gap between Covid-19 vaccine doses
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/five-things-you-need-know-about-delaying-gap-between-covid-19-vaccine-doses.html#utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=doses
As the first coronavirus vaccines started to be rolled out at the end of a tumultuous 2020, UK officials unexpectedly endorsed stretching the gap between the first and second vaccine dose by up to three months – an approach also considered by other countries.
The rationale is that, with the virus raging alongside uncertainty about vaccine supply, vaccinating a greater number of people with a single dose would be more effective at preventing deaths and hospitalisations than if a smaller number of people received two doses. However critics question the wisdom of moving away from the timetable tested during clinical trials.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY HEPA Fan Clears The Stale Office Air
https://hackaday.com/2021/01/20/diy-hepa-fan-clears-the-stale-office-air/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/01/21/inflatable-hospital-isolation-wards/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Have you ever wondered why the CDC advice on not touching your face is so hard to stick to?
Can’t Stop Touching Your Face? These Researchers Say It’s You Trying To Sniff Yourself
https://www.iflscience.com/brain/cant-stop-touching-your-face-these-researchers-say-its-you-trying-to-sniff-yourself/
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says one of the many ways you can reduce your risk of catching Covid-19 is to “avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.” It perhaps sounds like the easiest of all their guidelines to follow, but as a couple of weeks of lockdown reveals, this seemingly simple advice is surprisingly hard to stick to.
Have you ever wondered why? Well, it might be that we’re subconsciously trying to sniff ourselves, according to a hypothesis proposed by a team of neurobiologists from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Writing in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, they speculate that touching our own face is linked to the human tendency to smell ourself, a tool we still use today to understand our surroundings, other people, and ourselves.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DOD utilizes 3D-printing to create N95 respirators in the battle against COVID-19
https://www.army.mil/article/242304/dod_utilizes_3d_printing_to_create_n95_respirators_in_the_battle_against_covid_19
As COVID-19 numbers increase, the U.S. Army continues to play an integral role in the ramped-up effort to produce N95 respirators for healthcare and frontline workers across the nation, and coordinating this effort is U.S. Air Force Maj. Daniel Williams. In this exclusive interview, we spoke with Williams, who is the product manager for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity’s Warfighter Expeditionary Medicine and Treatment Project Management Office’s N95 respirator efforts.
JS: Please describe the features of the N95 respirator, and why this device is superior to others currently on the market. What is its significance, especially with regard to COVID?
DW: It’s not so much superiority, as it is availability. One of the highest levels of respiratory protection for medical purposes, to include viral infection, is a NIOSH-certified N95 respirator. These come in multiple forms, but all are held to the same standard of filtering at least 95 percent of relevant particles, such as the Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 virus.
JS: Please describe the features of the N95 respirator, and why this device is superior to others currently on the market. What is its significance, especially with regard to COVID?
DW: It’s not so much superiority, as it is availability. One of the highest levels of respiratory protection for medical purposes, to include viral infection, is a NIOSH-certified N95 respirator. These come in multiple forms, but all are held to the same standard of filtering at least 95 percent of relevant particles, such as the Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 virus.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Single-Dose COVID-19 Nanoparticle Vaccine Could Be Stored at Room Temperature
https://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/component/content/article/mdb/insiders/medical-design-briefs/38414?utm_source=TB_Medical_News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210122&oly_enc_id=2460E0071134A8V
A schematic visualization of the ferritin nanoparticle with shortened coronavirus spike proteins, which is the basis of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate from Stanford. (Credit: Duo Xu)
A single-shot vaccine that does not require a cold-chain for storage or transport contains nanoparticles studded with the same proteins that comprise the COVID-19 virus’s distinctive surface spikes.
Initial tests in mice suggest that the Stanford nanoparticle vaccine could produce COVID-19 immunity after just one dose. The researchers are also hopeful that it could be stored at room temperature and are investigating whether it could be shipped and stored in a freeze-dried, powder form. By comparison, the vaccines that are farthest along in development in the United States all need to be stored at cold temperatures, ranging from approximately 8–70 °C (46–94 °F).
Stanford single-dose nanoparticle vaccine for COVID-19
https://news.stanford.edu/2021/01/05/nanoparticle-vaccine-covid-19/
Researchers at Stanford are working to develop a single-dose vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 that could potentially be stored at room temperature.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Weeks before Europe knew it had a COVID-19 problem, warning signs were already appearing on Twitter.
Before COVID-19 Was Recognized In Europe, Alarm Bells Went Off On Twitter
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/before-covid19-was-recognized-in-europe-alarm-bells-went-off-on-twitter/
Weeks before Europe knew it had a COVID-19 problem, warning signs were already appearing on Twitter. Moreover, the locations of tweets referring to “pneumonia” and “dry cough” match the places where SARS-CoV-2 would be found to be most common a month or so later. The discovery represents a massive missed opportunity to have controlled the spread of the virus before it took hold, but also offers hope for preventing future pandemics.
Tracking search engine use of terms associated with colds and flu has been shown to be an effective way for health authorities to detect upsurges in respiratory diseases before conventional testing procedures catch up. Professor Massimo Riccaboni of IMT School for Advanced Studies thought social media might offer something similar.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/health-minister-who-took-magic-potion-to-prevent-covid19-contracts-covid19/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Carl Hansen’s Abcellera Biologics scored big helping Eli Lilly develop antibodies to treat symptoms of Covid-19.
This College Professor Became An Overnight Billionaire Fighting Covid
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2021/01/26/this-college-professor-became-an-overnight-billionaire-thanks-to-covid/?sh=5fe4ec203ce5&utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_content=4437275393&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesMainFB
If that sounds more like a college professor than the CEO of a $13 billion (market cap) biotech company, there’s a reason: Hansen was one—until 2019, when he left to focus on Vancouver- based AbCellera Biologics, cofounded with fellow researchers from the University of British Columbia in 2012. “Universities are very good at testing new ideas and looking for which road might be effective,” he says.
The team’s academic bent has played out in an even more important way. Nearly all biotech startups develop a handful of treatment targets, then spend the next eight to 12 years developing those drugs, hoping to bring at least one of them to market. It’s not a sure thing—fewer than 10% of new drugs make it all the way. But when they do, they tend to be blockbusters: Seven of the 10 top-selling drugs in 2018 were antibody treatments, including AbbVie’s $19 billion (net revenue) immunosuppressive drug Humira and Merck’s cancer drug Keytruda, which generated $11.1 billion in 2019.
AbCellera takes a vastly different approach. Instead of trying to build a vertically integrated drug company, it is focused solely on the discovery process.
Tomi Engdahl says:
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the world, some people have started doubling up on masks.
“Double Masking” To Protect Against COVID-19? Experts Think It’s A Good Idea
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/double-masking-to-protect-against-covid19-experts-think-its-a-good-idea/
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the world and new highly infectious variants are on the loose, some people have started doubling up on masks by wearing two on top of each other. This might sound unnecessary or overly cautious, but many leading health experts are arguing it could help to further stop the spread of COVID-19.
The idea behind this is simple: COVID-19 is caused by an airborne virus and can spread by aerosolized droplets of salvia that have become laced with the virus. If you wear a covering across your nose and mouth, many of these droplets will be filtered and blocked from flowing into the surrounding air, reducing the risk of transmission of the virus. However, since these infectious droplets are so small, a mask can not stop 100 percent of the viruses seeping through into the surrounding air.
One solution to this problem is wearing an N95 mask, which is designed to achieve a very close facial fit and is around 95 percent effective at blocking tiny particles 0.1 to 0.3 microns in size. Alternatively, simply wearing two masks could help to add another layer of protection.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bill Gates: Future Pandemics Must Be Taken As Seriously As ‘The Threat Of War’
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/27/bill-gates-future-pandemics-must-be-taken-as-seriously-as-the-threat-of-war/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Gordie
Billionaire Bill Gates thinks the world needs a massive global effort to prepare for future pandemics, which includes investing billions into scientific development, mass testing, a global pandemic alert system and a team of “infectious disease first responders.”
In the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual letter, Gates, who is the fourth-richest person in the world, called on wealthy nations to invest tens of billions of dollars to collectively prepare for the next pandemic after Covid-19.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A #vaccination program shows how a pipeline/parallel hybrid architecture can provide lessons that apply to #DataProcessing as well #COVID19 #engineering #flowchart
Pipeline parallel hybrid architecture speeds COVID vaccination program
https://www.edn.com/pipeline-parallel-hybrid-architecture-speeds-covid-vaccination-program/?utm_content=buffer757e2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=edn_facebook&utm_campaign=buffer
Tomi Engdahl says:
COVID-19 rarely spreads through surfaces. So why are we still deep cleaning?
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00251-4?utm_source=fbk_nnc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=naturenews
The coronavirus behind the pandemic can linger on doorknobs and other surfaces, but these aren’t a major source of infection.
at the end of March, a laboratory study showed that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can persist on plastic and stainless steel for days1. That triggered startling headlines and a slew of advice on how to decontaminate everything from doorknobs to groceries. It also seemed to confirm guidance issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February that the virus that causes COVID-19 can spread through contaminated surfaces, known as fomites.
By May, the WHO and health agencies around the world were recommending that people in ordinary community settings — houses, buses, churches, schools and shops — should clean and disinfect surfaces, especially those that are frequently touched. Disinfectant factories worked around the clock to keep up with heavy demand.
But Goldman, a microbiologist at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, decided to take a closer look at the evidence around fomites. What he found was that there was little to support the idea that SARS-CoV-2 passes from one person to another through contaminated surfaces.
Many others reached similar conclusions. In fact, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) clarified its guidance about surface transmission in May, stating that this route is “not thought to be the main way the virus spreads”. It now states that transmission through surfaces is “not thought to be a common way that COVID-19 spreads”.
As evidence has accumulated over the course of the pandemic, scientific understanding about the virus has changed. Studies and investigations of outbreaks all point to the majority of transmissions occurring as a result of infected people spewing out large droplets and small particles called aerosols when they cough, talk or breathe. These can be directly inhaled by people close by. Surface transmission, although possible, is not thought to be a significant risk.
But it’s easier to clean surfaces than improve ventilation — especially in the winter — and consumers have come to expect disinfection protocols. That means that governments, companies and individuals continue to invest vast amounts of time and money in deep-cleaning efforts. By the end of 2020, global sales of surface disinfectant totalled US$4.5 billion, a jump of more than 30% over the previous year.
Part of the problem is that specialists can’t rule out the possibility of fomite transmission, and the guidance from many health agencies about how to deal with surfaces has been unclear as the science has changed.
CDC directs people to a comprehensive list of agents that kill SARS-C0V-2 and says: “Frequent disinfection of surfaces and objects touched by multiple people is important.”
Experts say that it makes sense to recommend hand washing, but some researchers are pushing back against the focus on surfaces.
“It’s become clear that transmission by inhalation of aerosols — the microscopic droplets — is an important if not dominant mode of transmission,” says Marr, who studies airborne disease transmission. Excessive attention on making surfaces pristine takes up limited time and resources that would be better spent on ventilation or the decontamination of the air that people breathe, she says.
The focus on fomites — rather than aerosols — emerged at the very beginning of the coronavirus outbreak because of what people knew about other infectious diseases.
Unrealistic conditions
Although these types of experiment demonstrate that the coronavirus can survive on surfaces, this doesn’t mean that people are catching it from surfaces such as doorknobs. Goldman and others caution against reading too much into virus-survival studies, because most don’t test conditions that exist outside the lab.
Only a handful of studies have looked for viable virus outside the lab.
Although it’s probably rare, says Cowling, transmission through surfaces can’t be ruled out. “It just doesn’t seem to happen that much, as far as we can tell.”
Despite the rarity of published examples of fomite transmission, Chinese authorities require that imported frozen food be disinfected. The change in guidelines followed a report, which has not been released in detail, that a worker at a frozen-food business in the northern port city of Tianjin became infected after handling contaminated packaging of frozen pork imported from Germany. But the WHO and other experts have disputed claims that people can be infected through the food chain in this manner.
The conundrum facing health authorities, says Marr, is that definitively ruling out surface transmission is hard. Authorities can be reluctant to tell people not to be cautious. “You never want to say, ‘Oh, don’t do that,’ because it can happen. And you know, we should follow the precautionary principle,” she says.
Despite the evolving evidence, the public might have grown to expect extra levels of sanitization after the early months of the pandemic.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vaccines Against SARS-CoV-2 Will Have Side Effects – That’s A Good Thing
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/vaccines-against-sarscov2-will-have-side-effects-thats-a-good-thing/
Temporary side effects from vaccines are a normal sign of a developing immune response.
Vaccines work by training your immune system to recognize and remember a pathogen in a safe way.
Expected side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine include redness and swelling at the injection site and stiffness and soreness in the muscle.
A potent vaccine may even cause fever. It does not mean that the vaccine gave you COVID-19.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The role, either direct or indirect, of the influenza virus in encephalitis lethargica is still up for debate, but scientists have linked other respiratory viruses, like SARS-CoV-2, to neurological symptoms.
Researchers Are Tracking Covid-19’s Long-Term Effects On Brain Health
http://on.forbes.com/6186Hjope
During the 1918 influenza pandemic, a different disease began to crop up. The condition, encephalitis lethargica, led to symptoms like sleep disruption, headache and lethargy. It could progress to drowsiness or even coma in some. Others developed movement problems, like restlessness and tremors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kangasmaskeille täystyrmäys vertailussa: “Ei voida pitää millään tavalla suojaimena” – tehokkaista ja kalliista FFP2-maskeista tulee pula, jos suositus muuttuu
https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/kangasmaskeille-taystyrmays-vertailussa-ei-voida-pitaa-millaan-tavalla-suojaimena-tehokkaista-ja-kalliista-ffp2-maskeista-tulee-pula-jos-suositus-muuttuu/8048274#gs.s5duun
Työterveyslaitos selvittää parhaillaan, ovatko Suomen kasvomaskisuositukset ajan tasalla. Valtioneuvosto saattaa tehdä uudet maskilinjaukset jo ensi viikolla. Ainakaan järeitä FFP2-maskeja ei riittäisi kaikelle kansalle.
Maskisuositukset saattavat tiukentua Suomessa koronamuunnosten levitessä. Mahdollista on, että tavallisimpia kangasmaskeja ei enää suositeltaisi käytettäväksi niiden heikon suojaustehon vuoksi.
Työterveyslaitos tekee juuri nyt viranomaispyynnöstä selvitystä siitä, ovatko maskisuositukset maassamme riittävät.
– Uuden helpommin tarttuvan virusmuunnoksen vuoksi suosituksia voidaan joutua kiristämään, ennakoi Työterveyslaitoksen vanhempi asiantuntija Erja Mäkelä MTV Uutiset Liven haastattelussa.
Pääministeri Sanna Marin (sd.) on jo kertonut siirtyneensä kangasmaskista kirurgiseen maskiin. Myöskään Työterveyslaitoksen Erja Mäkelä ei kangasmaskia henkilökohtaisesti käytä, vaan useimmiten kasvoilla on kirurginen maski.
Tavallisimmat kangasmaskit eivät ole Mäkelän mukaan testattuja tai hyväksyttyjä – niiden suodatusteho on puutteellinen.
– Kangasmaski suodattaa mikropartikkeleista ehkä 20 prosenttia tai hieman enemmän. Suojausteho on niin alhainen, että kangasmaskia ei voida pitää millään tavalla suojaimena, sanoo Mäkelä.
Kertakäyttöisinä kirurgiset maskit maksavat käyttäjälleen kankaista enemmän. Ne ovat testattuja tuotteita, ja niissä on tutkitusti suojaustehoa epidemiologisessa tilanteessa. Tehokkain suodatuskyvyltään näistä kolmesta vaihtoehdosta on FFP2-maski.
– Venttiilittömästä mallista eivät lennä virukset muiden ulottuville. FFP2 tiivistyy täysin kasvoille, joten partaa ei voi olla välissä. Valinnassa on oltava tarkkana, jotta malli sopii omille kasvoille. Jos kaikki käyttäisivät FF2-maskeja, niistä tulisi pula.
Tehomaski käy kalliiksi. Useamman FFP2-maskin käyttö päivän aikana tekee kuluja arviolta 20 euroa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/five-things-you-need-know-about-mrna-vaccines.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=CovidSeries
Tomi Engdahl says:
“But many of the hardware hold-ups we’ve witnessed – from production line bottlenecks to parts shortages – could be avoided in the future by applying an ‘open source’ ethos to the world’s production of hardware.”
(via The Conversation)
Making hardware ‘open source’ can help us fight future pandemics – here’s how we get there
https://theconversation.com/making-hardware-open-source-can-help-us-fight-future-pandemics-heres-how-we-get-there-153280
An ‘open’ approach to hardware could make production bottlenecks a thing of the past.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The signs on Twitter were weeks ahead of everything else.
Before COVID-19 Was Recognized In Europe, Alarm Bells Went Off On Twitter
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/before-covid19-was-recognized-in-europe-alarm-bells-went-off-on-twitter/
Weeks before Europe knew it had a COVID-19 problem, warning signs were already appearing on Twitter. Moreover, the locations of tweets referring to “pneumonia” and “dry cough” match the places where SARS-CoV-2 would be found to be most common a month or so later. The discovery represents a massive missed opportunity to have controlled the spread of the virus before it took hold, but also offers hope for preventing future pandemics.
Tracking search engine use of terms associated with colds and flu has been shown to be an effective way for health authorities to detect upsurges in respiratory diseases before conventional testing procedures catch up. There is even evidence reviews of scented candles have turned more negative because people with COVID-19 blame their inability to smell on the candle.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Riittääkö suu-nenäsuojain, vai tarvitsenko FFP-suojainta? Onko kangasmaskista mihinkään? https://www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-2000007776969.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Next-Gen Vaccine For Covid-19 Mutants Will Be Ready By Fall, AstraZeneca Says
https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/02/03/next-gen-vaccine-for-covid-19-mutants-will-be-ready-by-fall-astrazeneca-says/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Gordie
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Distiamo app is now live on the Splunkbase marketplace! Distiamo’s distancing and contact-tracing technology is designed to help companies bring back employees and customers safely. The app provides enterprise-level dashboards, analytics and system monitoring. You are welcome. https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/5405/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers not only saw the virus, but caught the defense mechanism employed by the infected cell itself.
Incredible New Image Of SARS-Cov-2 Shows COVID-19 Virus Bound To A Kidney Cell
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/incredible-new-image-of-sarscov2-shows-covid19-virus-bound-to-a-kidney-cell/
Researchers have reported new microscopic observations of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The amazing new observations were possible thanks to a technique known as helium ion microscopy, which had not been used before to study this virus.
Coronaviruses such as SARS-Cov-2 are only around 100 nanometers in diameter – or 100 billionths of a meter. That’s way below the limit for optical microscopes. Electron microscopes have been employed from the very first weeks of the pandemic to image the virus, but these instruments have certain drawbacks. To conduct electron microscopy, it is necessary to coat the cells in a thin layer of gold, which alters their properties.
Helium ion microscopes don’t have these limitations. They can distinguish things over 400 times smaller than a coronavirus, and since they are not altering cells in any way, they can see how viruses and cells actually interact.
“The study shows that the helium ion microscope is suitable for imaging coronaviruses – so precisely that the interaction between virus and host cell can be observed,”
Over 100 million people have developed COVID-19 over the last 14 months.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Future pandemic preparedness, powered by genomics
https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-020-00484-3?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bcon-illumina_article_15&fbclid=IwAR3hk84J-Vsa3REwDF8ky5fjoYuFmNJBWFgCGOmCWzF5kCYHtg9-biMFubc
Next-generation sequencing is helping to steer the global response to SARS-CoV-2, and will help the world to prepare for future pandemics.
“Genomics provides us with a ‘molecular Esperanto’ – a shared language that everyone understands,” says Vitali Sintchenko, a public health microbiologist at Sydney Medical School and Director of the Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (CIDM) Public Health.
SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, emerged in China in December 2019. Since then, researchers around the world have used genomics to understand its spread and evolution, uncovering vital clues that are helping to inform public health decision-making and the development of new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Advertiser retains sole responsibility for the content of this article
Future pandemic preparedness, powered by genomics
https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-020-00484-3?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bcon-illumina_article_15&fbclid=IwAR3sU8EQN_q6DVFg0l7FtcyJLk0Lw-VmLI7TP9JAXL3afN3XPYByHu72Qpg
Next-generation sequencing is helping to steer the global response to SARS-CoV-2, and will help the world to prepare for future pandemics.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://innovate.ieee.org/innovation-spotlight/cold-chain-monitoring/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Innovation&utm_content=cold-chain%3FLT%3DCMH_WB_2021_LM_XIS_Paid_Social&fbclid=IwAR2F5zDo7kG7Z3mkL_585MjQIBPyyYWuboZdcvMgt-UiMRC9tO2K_vxMNXk
Tomi Engdahl says:
A DARPA-Funded Implantable Biochip to Detect COVID-19 Could Hit Markets by 2021
An experimental new vaccine developed jointly with the US government claims to be able to change human DNA and could be deployed as early as next year through a DARPA-funded, injectable biochip.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/darpa-covid-19-vaccine-implant-mrna/271287/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mount Sinai study finds Apple Watch can predict COVID-19 diagnosis up to a week before testing
https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/09/mount-sinai-study-finds-apple-watch-can-predict-covid-19-diagnosis-up-to-a-week-before-testing/?tpcc=ECFB2021
A new study from Mount Sinai researchers published in the peer-reviewed “Journal of Medical Internet Research” found that wearable hardware, and specifically the Apple Watch, can effectively predict a positive COVID-19 diagnosis up to a week before current PCR-based nasal swab tests.
The investigation dubbed the “Warrior Watch Study,” used a dedicated Apple Watch and iPhone app and included participants from Mount Sinai staff. It required participants to use the app for health data monitoring and collection, and also asked that they fill out a day survey to provide direct feedback about their potential COVID-19 symptoms and other factors, including stress.
https://www.mountsinai.org/about/covid19/warrior-watch-study
Tomi Engdahl says:
AI Can Predict Whether Someone Will Die From COVID-19 With 90 Percent Accuracy
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/ai-can-predict-whether-someone-will-die-from-covid19-with-90-percent-accuracy/
It was possible to predict using only a limited number of variables.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Good ventilation and angry photons (far-UVC). mmkay.
Predicting airborne coronavirus inactivation by far-UVC in populated rooms using a high-fidelity coupled radiation-CFD model
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76597-y#Sec3
There are increased risks of contracting COVID-19 in hospitals and long-term care facilities, particularly for vulnerable groups. In these environments aerosolised coronavirus released through breathing increases the chance of spreading the disease. To reduce aerosol transmissions, the use of low dose far-UVC lighting to disinfect in-room air has been proposed. Unlike typical UVC, which has been used to kill microorganisms for decades but is carcinogenic and cataractogenic, recent evidence has shown that far-UVC is safe to use around humans.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Puhallustesteri antaa minuutissa tiedon koronatartunnasta – laitteiden valmistus alkaa Suomessa
Suomessa kehitetty puhallustesteri mittaa uloshengityksestä koronainfektion aiheuttamia yhdisteitä.
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11767977?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=yleuutiset&utm_medium=social
Tomi Engdahl says:
If one the worlds most cited scientific journals raises what we have been saying since the start of the pandemic..the infection risk is in the air !
Why spent millions on surface cleaning alone ?
You should ensure you have clean, safe air indoors !
So why not do something about it ?
With mobile plug&play Genano units that capture down to 3 nano size particles and destroy the virus in a closed ionisation chamber.
With no contaminated HEPA filters to change, no harmfull and slow UVC light to worry about.
Low energy, low maintenance.
Just effective, proven Finnish top technology !
For hospitals, clean rooms, medical practices, offices, gyms, schools and restaurants.
Genano. Pure Air. Nothing else.
Coronavirus is in the air — there’s too much focus on surfaces
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00277-8
Catching the coronavirus from surfaces is rare. The World Health Organization and national public-health agencies need to clarify their advice.
A year into the pandemic, the evidence is now clear. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted predominantly through the air — by people talking and breathing out large droplets and small particles called aerosols. Catching the virus from surfaces — although plausible — seems to be rare (E. Goldman Lancet Infect. Dis. 20, 892–893; 2020).
Despite this, some public-health agencies still emphasize that surfaces pose a threat and should be disinfected frequently. The result is a confusing public message when clear guidance is needed on how to prioritize efforts to prevent the virus spreading..
In its most recent public guidance, updated last October, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised: “Avoid touching surfaces, especially in public settings, because someone with COVID-19 could have touched them before. Clean surfaces regularly with standard disinfectants.” A WHO representative told Nature in January that there is limited evidence of the coronavirus being passed on through contaminated surfaces known as fomites. But they added that fomites are still considered a possible mode of transmission
This lack of clarity about the risks of fomites — compared with the much bigger risk posed by transmission through the air — has serious implications. People and organizations continue to prioritize costly disinfection efforts, when they could be putting more resources into emphasizing the importance of masks, and investigating measures to improve ventilation. The latter will be more complex but could make more of a difference.
The New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority alone estimates that its annual COVID-related sanitation costs will be close to US$380 million between now and 2023. Late last year, the authority asked the US federal government for advice on whether to focus solely on aerosols. It was told to concentrate on fomites, too, and has so far directed more resources towards cleaning surfaces than tackling aerosols.
Now that it is agreed that the virus transmits through the air, in both large and small droplets, efforts to prevent spread should focus on improving ventilation or installing rigorously tested air purifiers. People must also be reminded to wear masks and maintain a safe distance. At the same time, agencies such as the WHO and the CDC need to update their guidance on the basis of current knowledge.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Trust in COVID vaccines is growing
Survey spanning several countries finds encouraging trends, but researchers warn vaccine hesitancy could slow pandemic recovery.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00368-6
Tomi Engdahl says:
Automatic Hand Sanitizer …
https://techatronic.com/simple-automatic-hand-sanitizer-with-indicator-light/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY CO2 Monitoring as a COVID-19 Safety Measure
https://www.hackster.io/news/diy-co2-monitoring-as-a-covid-19-safety-measure-0c75ae2fd252
Pierre Carles’ easy-to-build CO2 monitor can be used to optimize ventilation in closed spaces, helping reduce airborne contamination.
One of the many difficult things about the COVID-19 pandemic, as we hopefully move toward safer times with the vaccine, is that you are so often unable to know whether or not you have been exposed. One way to have a better idea of the safety of any space is to test the air quality; testing CO2 levels indicates how stale or “fresh” the air is, and therefore how likely it is that you might be breathing in hazardous particles. Pierre Carles has proposed a cheap and easy-to-use device to monitor and record the real-time concentration of CO2 in ambient air. Using CO2 as a proxy for respiratory aerosols, the data obtained can help determine whether you need increased ventilation in any closed space, which is an important safety measure when dealing with the coronavirus.
The BOM for the unit is laid out in full in the post, and Carles estimates that all materials can be purchased for $120. The main components include a Gravity NDIR CO2 sensor, an Adafruit Feather 328P or similar Arduino-compatible board, a Adalogger FeatherWing or any separate SPI SD card and I2C RTC boards, and an OLED FeatherWing or another I2C-addressable OLED screen. The rest of the electronics consist of a 5mm RGB LED, a CR1220 battery, a USB power bank, wires and tubing, and a box to serve as the enclosure
https://www.hackster.io/pierrecarles/co2-monitoring-as-an-anti-covid19-measure-da8edf
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/incredible-new-image-of-sarscov2-shows-covid19-virus-bound-to-a-kidney-cell/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/how-sarscov2-is-mutating-to-escape-immune-system-detection/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.mehilainen.fi/koronavirus/espanjantauti-korona
Tomi Engdahl says:
Secure Transport of COVID-19 Vaccines with IoT Cold Chain Monitoring
https://innovate.ieee.org/innovation-spotlight/cold-chain-monitoring/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lockdowns work.
Winter Influenza Cases Down 99.9 Percent In New Zealand Due To COVID-19 Lockdowns
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/winter-influenza-cases-down-999-percent-in-new-zealand-due-to-covid19-lockdowns/
Riding their impressive success in keeping COVID-19 cases low, New Zealand has also had a secondary success – they have reported almost no cases of influenza over the 2020 period. Likely a direct result of social distancing, lockdown, and wearing masks, preventative measures have resulted in a 99.9% reduction in flu cases, and may lead the way for reducing infectious disease prevalence in the future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pandemic fast-tracks telemedicine for treating diabetes
https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-020-00302-w?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bcon-Sanofi_telemedicine_20210216&fbclid=IwAR2OQXaGIhFoSsuVZu2F0rDOk72O4NzJBTsRM2lBy1FnB_QdKCplnBOORL4
The adoption of telemedicine for treating diabetes in Japan and Canada has been greatly accelerated by measures introduced to limit the spread of COVID-19
Tomi Engdahl says:
Single Shot Of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine Is 85% Effective, Study Finds
https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/02/19/single-shot-of-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-is-85-effective-study-finds/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Gordie
Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine is 85% effective after a single dose, according to an Israeli study published in The Lancet medical journal, supporting a controversial strategy of speeding up immunizations by delaying the second shot adopted by the U.K. and considered by a handful of other countries.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Single Dose Of Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Is 92.6% Effective, Analysis Suggests
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/single-dose-of-pfizerbiontech-vaccine-is-926-effective-analysis-suggests/
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine currently being rolled out across the world is extremely effective after just one dose, concludes a new safety and efficacy analysis. Despite early reports of just 52.4 percent efficacy, the letter finds the BNT162b2 vaccine has a single-dose efficacy of 92.6 percent, providing hope for the millions that have been inoculated with just one dose across the world.
During the first rollout of the vaccine, the UK became the first nation to split the recommended two doses into single-dose therapies that could then be delivered to double the people, with the second dose being delayed significantly. The idea was that a lower efficacy, spread across more of the population, would provide a form of herd immunity that would prevent the spread of COVID-19. Both the vaccine manufacturers and experts were quick to call out the approach, which had almost no evidence supporting it, but the UK surged ahead and has now vaccinated almost 16.9 million people with a single dose.
With an efficacy of 92.6 percent, this lands the vaccine as the current leader in single-dose protection, edging out the 92.1 percent reported for the Moderna vaccine.
The authors now call for a reconsidering of the vaccine strategy in the US, suggesting that such high efficacy calls into question the use of a second dose for these specific vaccines, which are under short supply.
“Given the current vaccine shortage, postponement of the second dose is a matter of national security that, if ignored, will certainly result in thousands of Covid-19-related hospitalizations and deaths this winter in the United States – hospitalizations and deaths that would have been prevented with a first dose of vaccine.” the letter continues.
While the results are extremely promising, conflicting evidence still exists that one dose may not be enough. An article published on January 22 on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine rollout in Israel suggests that one dose has only reduced COVID-19 cases by 33 percent among those vaccinated, contradicting both the 52.4 percent result and the latest 92.6 percent efficacy numbers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New research has found seven lineages are on the rise across the US. Curiously, the variants have all independently gained similar mutations
Seven Coronavirus Variants In The US All Independently Gained Similar Mutations
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/seven-coronavirus-variants-in-the-us-all-independently-gained-similar-mutations/
The latest chapter of the COVID-19 pandemic has been defined by vaccines and variants, the lineages of SARS-CoV-2 that have undergone notable mutations and taken root in different parts of the world. The most infamous examples of this line-up are the UK variant (aka the Kent variant), the South African variant, and the Brazilian variant – but the US has got more than its fair share of worrying variants too.
New preliminary research has reported that seven lineages of SARS-CoV-2 are on the rise across the US. Curiously, the seven variants have all independently gained similar mutations to the spike protein of the surface of the virus.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Secure Transport of COVID-19 Vaccines with IoT Cold Chain Monitoring
https://innovate.ieee.org/innovation-spotlight/cold-chain-monitoring/
In developing regions, more than 39% of vaccines created each year are wasted due to breaches and inadequacies in the cold chain system. During the two to seven days it may take to reach a healthcare center, vaccines may be lost, stolen, or rendered useless due to rudimentary storage procedures. Often, the only means of temperature control is ice packs or cold water.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hello, Innovators.
I am so excited to share a new project “IoT-based Smart Patient Blood Oxygen monitor.
This project is truly designed for patients whose blood oxygen levels need to be monitored 24×7, for example, covid patients or any other patients who are on the ventilator.
This project continuously monitors the blood oxygen levels and logs them to the ubidots IoT platform. also, it will send critical medical alerts like “Voice calls, SMS, EMail, and telegram message” to the Hospital management and patient loved ones with the help of Ubidots events and alerts features.
Due to the long length of the video, I have divided this whole video into two parts.
Part1
https://lnkd.in/dMbuFHa
Part2
https://lnkd.in/d74XYA5
Source Code: https://lnkd.in/dSqBSVV
#arduinoide #arduino #esp32 #healthcare #digitalhealth #medicaldevices #cancer #medicine #research #biotech #medtech #immunotherapy #regenerativemedicine #celltherapy #oncology #precisionmedicine #iot #eeprom #clinicaltrials #ai #artificialintelligence
DIY IoT based Smart Patient Blood Oxygen monitor with critical medical alerts using NodeMCU &Ubidots
https://electronicsinnovation.com/diy-iot-based-smart-patient-blood-oxygen-monitor-with-critical-medical-alerts-using-nodemcu-ubidots/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finland Had a Patent-Free COVID-19 Vaccine Nine Months Ago — But Still Went With Big Pharma
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/02/finland-vaccine-covid-patent-ip
A team of leading Finnish researchers had a patent-free COVID-19 vaccine ready last May, which could have allowed countries all over the world to inoculate their populations without paying top dollar. Yet rather than help the initiative, Finland’s government sided with Big Pharma — showing how a patent-based funding model puts profit over public health.