IDE students design a solution to test suspected COVID-19 patients

News - 16 April 2020 - Communication

Two teams of IDE students are designing mobile test facilities to diagnose potential cases of coronavirus, without having to rely on scarce resources like COVID-19 tests, protective clothing and masks.

When it comes to the diagnosis of suspected COVID-19 patients, GPs’ first contact is normally by phone. By asking a series of questions, the doctor can identify which people should stay at home to get better and which people require emergency hospital treatment.  But not everyone falls into these two neat categories: there’s a significant group of questionable cases which leave the GP in doubt. 

IDE students are working on two mobile solutions to test COVID-related respiratory complaints by measuring oxygen saturation, breathing frequency and body temperature. This will enable the GP to more accurately assess if these patient needs to go to hospital or recover at home.

The first concept is mobile tent for testing on hospital grounds. The second is a front door testing solution for patients who have difficulty leaving their home. The students are working closely with a GP in Rotterdam who came up with the idea.

Concept 1: Mobile tent for testing at hospital site
Concept 2: Front door testing for immobile patients

Visit the website for more information: https://saturatiemeten.nl/
Want to help in anyway? send an email to info@saturatiemeten.nl

With the corona crisis having forced the cancellation of Flight Case (the IDE study trip to the US), the students quickly regrouped, and together with Professor Deborah Nas and Bart Bluemink from the DOS department, came up with the ‘corona challenge’. Students are making a valuable contribution to society, while earning the study points they would have clocked up in preparing for the study trip. In Q4, a second team of Flight Case students will work with the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management on a ‘mobility’ challenge: now that people are used to working remotely, how can we create a lasting change in behavior?