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    COVID-19 tagged posts

    Vermont team invents Emergency Ventilator

    April 7, 2020, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical, Technology/Electronics

    A commercial ventilator can have 1500 parts supplied from more than a dozen countries. UVM engineer Carl Silver built the first prototype of an emergency ventilator in one day with parts he found in his house and UVM’s IMF Lab. He’s part of a Vermont team seeking emergency review from the FDA to make the ventilator available for hospitals overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. They’ll be sharing the innovative design—and looking for support and manufacturing partners. Credit: Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist

    Over the last three weeks, a team of scientists, engineers and doctors at the University of Vermont have developed a new design—and built a working model—for a simple, inexpensive ventilator.

    “We think these could be rolled out very quickly and be effective on an emergency b...

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    FDA officially authorizes its first Serological Antibody Blood Test for COVID-19

    April 3, 2020, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    blood sample
    Cellex’s test is distinctly different from the nearly two dozen diagnostic tests the FDA has officially authorized so far, which focus on finding active infections by sequencing the genetic material of the virus. (Rawpixel)

    The FDA granted its first emergency authorization for a rapid antibody blood test for COVID-19, developed by Cellex, allowing people to gauge a person’s immune response to the novel coronavirus.

    The serological test—which uses a fingerprick of blood and a small strip, similar to a combination of a blood glucose test and a home pregnancy exam—detects two different types of antibodies produced by the body to fight off the infection. Available by prescription, this can be used to determine whether a person has been previously infected and possibly recovered.

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    Trial Drug can significantly Block Early stages of COVID-19 in engineered human tissues

    April 3, 2020, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    In cell cultures analyzed in the current study, hrsACE2 inhibited the coronavirus load by a factor of 1,000-5,000. Credit: IMBA/Tibor Kulcsar

    An international team led by University of British Columbia researcher Dr. Josef Penninger has found a trial drug that effectively blocks the cellular door SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect its hosts.

    The findings, published today in Cell, hold promise as a treatment capable of stopping early infection of the novel coronavirus that, as of April 2, has affected more than 981,000 people and claimed the lives of 50,000 people worldwide.

    The study provides new insights into key aspects of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and its interactions on a cellular level, as well as how the virus can infect blood vessels and kidneys.

    “We are hopefu...

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    Reusable Respirators may be a suitable Alternative to Disposable Respirators

    March 30, 2020, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    A reusable respirator on a table
    credit: NIOSH / CDC
    A reusable respirator.

    Researchers have found that reusable respirators may be a suitable alternative to disposable N95 respirators currently in high demand. Shortages of respiratory protective devices for healthcare personnel are major concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. A team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Emory University, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that reusable respirators may be a suitable alternative to disposable N95 respirators currently in high demand. The study appears in the journal JAMA.

    “Training and fit testing healthcare providers on respirators can be time consuming, a...

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