Technological Innovations That Helped the COVID-19 Pandemic

The new coronavirus pandemic has transformed the daily lives of the more than 7 billion inhabitants of our planet, reaching more than 188 countries throughout 2020. It has affected our interpersonal, professional, commercial relationships, the way we face the simple act of staying in our residence for a long period and the vital need, when going out in public, not to crowd in crowds. From the need to think about solutions to these issues, a series of technological innovations emerged that helped in the pandemic of COVID-19.

It is therefore worth emphasizing and congratulating how, more than ever, scientists have contributed in a unique way to humanity in their studies carried out in record time on the SARS-CoV-2, which were only possible thanks to the exchange of data and information between the entire international scientific community, proving how much the force of knowledge is capable of crossing political and ideological borders. These studies have resulted in a better understanding of the disease, how to treat it and, more recently, in its vaccine.

Below is a list of innovations that helped in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Equipments for individual safety

If you are going to choose the protagonist of the pandemic, the mask is article number 1, next to gel alcohol. It has become a common item in our clothing and totally essential for protection against the coronavirus. Right at the beginning of the pandemic, with hospitals overcrowded, doctors, nurses and health professionals who were on the so-called “front line” found themselves immediately depleted of this protective equipment, and without any supplier to manufacture in time to supply the need. high demand.

With human creativity, we were able to improvise, on an emergency basis, masks made of homemade cloth fabrics. The same happened when the World Health Organization (OMS) guided everyone who needed to leave the house to use the article. We immediately sew masks reusing clothes, curtains, among other household items.

But one of the first technological innovations that helped in the pandemic was the use of 3D printing to make face shields, which have become scarce in the market and were fundamental for the protection of health professionals working on the front line in the fight against coronavirus.

mechanical lung ventilator

For patients who develop more severe symptoms of COVID-19, there is pulmonary and respiratory compromise in different degrees, that is, more or less severe. Depending on how the patient's lung is affected, it is necessary to use a device called a "mechanical ventilator" that will partially and sometimes even completely replace the individual's lung functions, helping him to breathe, maintaining his oxygenation levels until the lung fully recovers. But just as there was a peak in demand for masks, at the height of hospitalizations there were not devices available for all patients. The solution was to use recyclable materials and even 3D printers to manufacture the device's components.

Reorganization of work and study spaces

Another point that became routine during the pandemic of COVID-19 It was social distancing. If at the time of peak contagion the population must withdraw into total confinement, the so-called lockdown, the return to social interaction is done by keeping a distance of 2 meters between one individual and another. Thus, spaces such as schools and offices need to have their architecture rethought for the routine within this “new normal”.

The recess time, for example, an essential space for children to socialize, has gained stalls on the cafeteria tables to prevent contamination in schools in China. In companies, the cubicle solution is already known, but while many companies have fully employed the home office in the routine of employees, to the point that some dispense with the physical office, others do not dispense with bringing together their employees, thinking of technological solutions such as sensors that indicate quality. of the air, the temperature of the employees and the volume of occupation.

non-human help

When we mention the term “non-human aid”, some technological innovation in the field of robotics is automatically projected into our minds. In fact, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, several solutions in this regard were proposed, such as a mechanical arm to assist in the application of the PCR exam. There was also the use of robots to patrol public spaces for social isolation, such as the use of the Boston Dynamics Spot in Singapore.

But in addition to robots, animal aid was also one of the innovations that helped in the pandemic. For passengers arriving at Helsinki airport, in Finland, they will be greeted by several sniffer dogs. But unlike the traditional canines that accompany police officers on operations looking for drugs or explosives in luggage, these dogs are trained to recognize people with symptoms of the coronavirus. Dogs capable of sniffing out so-called asymptomatic people are also being trained by the German army.

Data analysis and visualization

Graphs and statistical data became routine in television news, news portals and other information channels that presented news about the evolution of the coronavirus in your city, in Brazil and in the world. To educate the population about public health news in a didactic way, reporters needed visual support for terms such as “flattening the epidemiological growth curve”.

Innovating in the way of gathering, filtering and, above all, illustrating so much information was very important, both from the point of view of Big Data and of Social Communication, complementing the work of public utility, avoiding the dissemination of so-called fake news (false information) during the pandemic of COVID-19.

Vaccine distribution logistics

Certainly the biggest and most anticipated of the innovations that helped in the pandemic of COVID-19 it's the vaccine. In addition to efficiency in prevention, the manufacturing and distribution process also needs to be facilitated and optimized. Vaccine batches need to reach patients as quickly as possible and be kept at the correct storage temperatures. the vaccine of Pfizer, for example, needs to be kept at -80°C. already the russian Sputnik, Oxford / AstraZeneca and coronavac do Butantan need to stay between 2ºC to 8ºC. To assist in this logistics, the UNICEF created a refrigeration mapping so that developing countries know where they can store the doses.

Sources: Journal of USP, HomeColor, Valor Econômico, IOC, Brain Navi, Fast Company e DW.