Engineering solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19
The research group at the Functional Materials Laboratory at ETH is currently developing low-cost and easy-to-build solutions to fight the global COVID-19 disease that could also benefit low- and middle-income countries.
While countries in the Global North are struggling in the battle with the novel coronavirus, the spread of the pandemic presents an even greater challenge to countries with weaker health care systems and fewer resources. A major concern is the availability of necessary resources for testing and life-saving medical equipment. To help out in the global COVID-19 crisis, ETH4D member Prof. Wendelin Jan Stark and his team at the Functional Materials Laboratory are currently working on low-cost and easy-to-build solutions for both the testing and treatment of the disease that could also benefit low- and middle-income countries.
Production of affordable, fast quantitative PCR machines for rapid diagnostics
Testing is a key pillar in the strategy to contain the novel coronavirus. Currently, however, testing is slow and restricted to large facilities and costly devices. This is why Prof. Stark and his team are working towards a fast, economical and resource-efficient test for SARS-COV-2 using a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) device that they recently developed called “peakPCR”. The researchers expect an 80%-time reduction, which would increase the number of patients that could be tested. Moreover, the team is developing a portable version, which would allow testing in resource-limited environments.
Easy-to-build oxygen generator for COVID-19 patients
Oxygen generators are an essential medical device in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Prof. Stark and his team have created an oxygen concentrator that can be built anywhere using their open-source instructions. Building the oxygen concentrator requires only common materials and minimal engineering knowledge. All necessary components and instructions, including a video tutorial, are available on the project website. As this is an open-source project, the research team also welcomes inputs that will help them to define the best solution.
