» The 2020 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards program is underway, once again featuring tracks for skilled care and senior living providers. Each includes six categories and multiple entries are allowed. The deadline to submit nominations is July 24. Submit entries at
www.mcknightstechawards.com.
» Researchers from the LAMP Lab at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering have created a durable, washable textile coating that can not only repel liquids such as blood and saliva, but also prevent viruses from adhering to the surface. Their work was recently published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
» A Michigan mechanical engineer has designed an aerosol box to help protect healthcare workers from COVID-19. Stephen Smith created a three-sided rectangular cube that’s placed over the head and upper torso of COVID-19 patients. Two arm holes at the front allow medical personnel to place a tube into a patient’s airway to help them breathe without the healthcare worker being splattered by coughs caused by the irritation of the procedure. Smith’s design can be assembled and ready in five minutes with snug, snap-together sections; afterwards, the box can be disassembled, cleaned and stored.
» AppliedVR has partnered with Red One Medical to offer therapeutic virtual reality programs for pain and anxiety management for Veterans Affairs patients and staff. During the first stage of the partnership, AppliedVR and Red One Medical will provide cutting-edge VR-based stress management programs to frontline healthcare workers facing long hours, scarce supplies, and increasing stress levels during the COVID-19 crisis.
» Helmet-based ventilators could alleviate some of the strain placed on healthcare workers by enabling a wider range of hospital personnel to conduct noninvasive procedures on patients in need of ventilator support. A three-year trial at the University of Chicago also found that ventilation via helmet can result in faster recovery time, cutting an ICU stay; reduces the need to intubate; lowers ICU mortality; and costs less than traditional ventilators.
