IIT4 public health, Corona Virus Emergency
Following the emergency that has stricken Italy, Europe and the world, IIT has decided to share openly its scientific and technical know-how to help develop ideas and solutions in the battle against COVID-19.
Strictly speaking, virology is not part of our scientific plan. However, we believe that our skills can be readily deployed to solve real and immediate problems. We are good at engineering, molecular simulations, predictive models, artificial intelligence, smart materials, robotics and genetics (See our Research Domains).
Despite the necessary measures to prevent contagion, which limit people’s mobility and access to laboratories, we are “smartly working” on several projects with a clear short-term focus. Here are some of the projects we are involved in:
Artificial Intelligence
We are using computer vision to improve and simplify automatic temperature checks and social distancing
Projects:
Material science
We are designing reusable, easily disinfectable protective masks by employing new functionalized materials
Molecular simulation
We have examined a series of molecular targets for COVID-19 and performed in silico screening of a database containing more than 3,000 FDA-authorized drugs. The goal of this project is to be able to carry out drug repositioning (a much faster process compared to new drug development)
Robotics
We are working on a telepresence robot avatar, which can be assembled with off-the-shelf hardware; a social distancing bracelet to keep safe distance between people and a lung respirator for emergency situations (data shared on the DIH-HERO network). We are also creating 3D-printed components for respirators such as splitters, mask and flowmeters.
Projects:
Call for action
Want to help? If you are a company, institute or university and think we can work together, please contact us at: IITvsC19@iit.it
