Tag: Public Health

Ultraviolet System to Sterilize Thousands of Masks Per Day

Ultraviolet light, particularly in the UVC range (280–100 nm), is known to inactivate microbes. During the current COVID-19 pandemic there’s a shortage of protective masks, particularly N95 masks that feature electrostatic filters. Cleaning such masks using liquids is not effective, as the electrostatic effect ends up neutralized, so a (Read more...)

Microneedle Array for Universal Vaccine Delivery Developed

Microneedle arrays (MNAs) are a promising way of delivering vaccines into the body. They are nearly pain-free and can penetrate a substantial portion of the skin, which is considered an excellent place to inject vaccines because of the skin’s sensitive and very reactive immune network. Injecting small amounts of a vaccine strategically into t (Read more...)

PVA Emergency Ventilator Ready for Production

PVA, a company based outside of Albany, New York that normally provides automation services to a wide variety of industries, has developed and is about to start producing its own emergency ventilator to help address the COVID-19 epidemic. The design is based on one that was approved by the United Kingdom’s Department of Health & [… (Read more...)

CRISPR-Based Test to Diagnose COVID-19 in Less than One Hour

With the COVID-19 pandemic growing globally, new ways of detecting the infection is the need of the hour. University of California, San Francisco researchers have recently published a paper in Nature Biotechnology outlining their approach to diagnose COVID-19 infections from respiratory swabs using CRISPR. The test, called the SARS-CoV2 DETECTR ass (Read more...)

Oxygen Concentrator for N95 Masks to Make Breathing Easier

Paramedics, ICU staff, and anyone else currently working with patients in any capacity is probably wearing a face mask for extended periods of time. N95 masks, which are easy to wear while providing substantial protection, can reduce the amount of oxygen reaching the lungs by up to 20%. This causes fatigue, may lower blood-oxygen saturation, [&hell (Read more...)

Low-Cost Ventilator from Home Depot Components: Interview with Glen Meyerowitz, UCLA Biodesign Fellow

The current shortage of ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked significant innovation, including novel designs to split one ventilator into two, repurposing of existing devices to function as ventilators, and new solutions to reduce the need for ventilators. However, perhaps all of these innovations, and more, will be needed to accoun (Read more...)

TransAeris Diaphragm Pacing System Gets FDA Emergency Use Authorization for Quicker Ventilator Weaning

As hospitals face the possibility of ventilator shortages for COVID-19 patients, Synapse Biomedical announced that it received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for a device that helps wean patients off ventilators quicker. This, in turn, could free up ventilators for use by other patients. Weaning off of mechanical ventilation is a constant challeng (Read more...)

Rapid Medical Device Manufacturing for COVID-19 Response: Interview with Vicki Holt, CEO, Protolabs

The COVID-19 pandemic rumbles on, and the response to contain and delay the virus is astronomical, with billions of dollars and enormous levels of labor and material resources being deployed to meet the challenge. One of the major bottlenecks in combatting the virus is a lack of testing supplies and essential equipment, such as respirators, [&helli (Read more...)

Drive-Through COVID Test Booth Developed at Penn State

A team of engineers at Pennsylvania State University, including faculty and students, has been working on a solution to protect staff at drive-through COVID-19 testing sites. The team, working separately in different locations around the university, designed a booth that provides a barrier between the individuals being tested and the person conduct (Read more...)

Researchers Turn One Ventilator into Two

A group of clinicians, medtech researchers, and companies based in Galway, Ireland, has developed a system that allows two patients to use one ventilator, essentially doubling the effectiveness of existing ventilator stocks during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Called the Galway VentShare system, the technology consists of viral filters, valves, tu (Read more...)