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Projects That Fight Germs

14rhb

Just thinking....

 

I always think that us engineers are a very resourceful lot: TV shows like 'scrap heap challenge' and watching Youtube videos where someone makes an electronic circuit from junk are just a few examples. For anyone not familiar with what engineers do then just have a look around this website for a few minutes at the vast breadth of great project ideas. Therefore, given the current global outbreak of COVID-19, I wonder if there are a few things us engineers could devise that might help in some way. The idea being if they were affordable in terms of the component availability/resources then others with similar resources could replicate them and hopefully help a few friends, neighbours, colleagues out that way. Maybe even something that helps in the medium term while people, especially older folk, are in isolation. And finally looking much further ahead are there things that could help prevent the spread of germs.

My ideas, although most are not new: a contactless hand wash system would be very helpful, a contactless temperature monitor, a germ free door handle (can a low current effectively clean a metal handle?), a 3D printed gripper to open and close a variety of doors, a portable UV sterilizer for cutlery etc. If you could make a system that can electronically replace toilet roll then currently you'll be a hero/heroine in many countries - but please tone down any video evidence in subsequent blog posts image.

 

Maybe this could be an 'E14 Flash Challenge' - a special E14 theme to address an urgent issue, . I'd also suggest no $100 shopping cart prizes for this but instead some unique badges? If not, then I'm sure any discussions or ideas below could help others make an electronics/engineering based project that they hope will make a slight difference in some way.

  • in reply to cstanton

    I suspect that it's not often they get a chance to make something that is truly useful in the real world. It will be interesting to see how many continue to refine the design as they find out the weaknesses in the prototypes. 

     

    How long before someone manages to come up with a life-saving ventilator mask design ?

  • in reply to beacon_dave

    Hi Dave Ingles,

    have a look to snaponair.com  and disaster.radio :-)

  • I feel that a hyperbaric pressure room at 2 atmospheres, with a mix of any of the 14 antivirals shown to have some effect (non-contraindicative) combined with fairly regular transfusions to  deal with viral titre (if this option is available) is currently the best way to deal with this thing while we wait for the dozen or so methods that look to yield 95%+ survival rates, ie genetic engineering, bio chemical engineering, solutions are up and running. I have been fighting this thing for over 100 days from a model a based on spanishflu, called Spanishflu2, I pointed out months ago, the virus will end up on the floor and be spread by hospital staff this way, proved by the Chinese 5 days ago, The 2 meter rule is 80 years and 4 months old, it s 7 meters this can be tested by any one with engineering knowledge  with a black light and some type of aerosol  or atomiser, ideally you want a gylco protein of roughly viral size in there. Making Chinese and Italian doctors work with 4-6 hours sleep dropped the efficiency of their antigen defence system by 60% (proven in vitro in CoV1 patients years ago), and  trumps wonder drug works but not the way most experts think its main efficacy is related to iron disassociation in the blood, this is a long list of things that have made me many enemies in the world of science and medicine(egos I guess), and some friends. The problem from day 1 is an EXPERT in only 1 or 2 fields will generally give advice that can kill think COV1 and cytokine storm issue. The one engineering machine capable of defeating this thing requires such insane levels of skill to operate that I gave mine one of 30 in my country away 2 months ago to France (ECMO)- heart lung bypass, many engineers have made ventilators, but without a PEEP system these things are basically auto euthanasia devices, I managed to get one up and running with last generation PEEP it was hard, I then dismantled in case my youngest child tried to use it on me in a worse case scenario, as the last gift I should leave him should not be crippling guilt. SO  TOP SUMMARISE ENGINEERS YES, BUT MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS ONLY, electronic engineers, mechanical engineers,genetic engineers, chemical engineers, and some medical input. Life is a complex non linear dynamic system and without a view of the bigger picture there are many unseen dangers.