Screening system | Nanobodies from a llama named Wally | Clean air

NAVIGATING THE RECOVERY

Flyover Country fights the pandemic

 

A special report from:

FLYOVER U

University of Illinois "Shield" COVID-19 screening system

Image by Fred Zwicky for University of Illinois

 

Colleges and universities have had to make major adjustments to keep their schools open during the pandemic. Measures include testing, temperature checks, contact tracing, and more. But the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign may have outdone them all. A remarkable system called “Shield” is screening tens of thousands of people every day, and a homegrown data system and app are keeping the classrooms open.

Here’s how the system works: Anyone coming onto campus must provide a saliva sample, which gets analyzed at a university lab. The results come back in a couple of hours. Negative results appear on the system’s app, which people can use to enter university buildings. These “passports” are good for two to seven days, after which the user must take another test.

 

Undergrads are tested two to three times per week. If the person tests positive, they must self-isolate. The university is optimistic that the system will work to keep COVID at bay but hopes easier testing will be widely available for everybody soon. Another factor is the high price tag. The school spent about $7 million to get the system up and running and spends another $3 to $5 million every month.

INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT

With Hive Networks

Something to teach, something to learn

Dr. Kedar Mate, President and Chief Executive of IHI

 

IHI (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Boston that works to improve health and healthcare organizations in over 30 countries. Dr. Kedar Mate, President and Chief Executive of IHI, talks about the institute’s mission and how Cincy’s Hive Networks is playing a pivotal role.

 

You’re very involved with LHNs (Learning Health Networks). Can you explain the concept?

 

Dr. Mate: IHI works from the axiom All Teach, All Learn. Everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn. That thesis was incorporated into LHNs for improving specific health outcomes for patients. LHNs are a marriage of the research community, provider community, and the patient community. All are teaching and learning from each other to improve health outcomes. That 3-part network has been so incredibly critical to the pace and the scale of the work.

 

What does Hive Networks contribute to the mission?

 

Dr. Mate: The LHN was essentially an academic model created by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital with help from IHI. We needed a way to push it out to a broader audience. We wanted to make it so that anyone who wanted to start a network like this could. That’s what Hive Networks has pioneered.

 

Hive has created the data architecture and the community architecture that enables any clinical community to come together more rapidly and to take better care of patients. Hive took us into the realm of “anyone who wants to start a network can have the ability to do so.”

 

Can you give us an example of how LHNs are succeeding?

 

Dr. Mate: LHNs in general have made amazing advancements. One example is the LHN for in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). That network now includes 30,000 patients. That means that almost all kids with IBD are in this network now. The aggregate remission rate for kids with IBD went from an average of 50% to 80% in the last decade. Substantial outcomes for these kids: It means they can go to school, they can go to the prom. Things that weren’t possible before remission.

 

We also have a network for children born with a rare heart syndrome in which the left side of their heart is not working properly. It requires two surgeries to fix before the child is one years old. What was happening is that some children were dying between the surgeries. What was discovered through the LHN is that there were medications that could be administered between the surgeries that could increase the survival rate by 40%.

 

To learn more about the Learning Health Network model and Hive Networks, visit www.hivenetworks.com. To learn more about the Institute of Healthcare Improvement visit www.ihi.org.

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COVID-19, Pitt, and a llama named Wally

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh have discovered a potentially revolutionary treatment for COVID-19. They used mass spectrometry to pull out tiny antibodies—called nanobodies—from a COVID-immunized llama named Wally. Wally’s nanobodies work like the convalescent plasma from humans that doctors have been using for awhile now. But the nanobodies have several advantages over normal antibodies: They are a fraction of the size, are orders of magnitude more powerful, and can be shipped at room temperature.

Even better, the nanobodies can be snorted instead of injected. That means the medicine gets into the nose, upper respiratory tract, and lungs more directly, while also being easier to administer. The Pitt scientists are excited about the discovery but cautioned that any medicine will still have to go through the normal clinical trials before becoming available. Meanwhile, Wally is reportedly happy and healthy and living on a farm in Massachusetts, and we hope that’s not the same farm where Mom said our dog went to live.

Are our eyes safe from COVID?

A study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine suggests that our corneas can resist infection from the virus that causes COVID-19. If that belongs in the category of things you didn’t know you needed to worry about, it looks like you needn’t worry. While the study isn’t conclusive, none of the corneas from mice or human donors became infected. That’s significant because other viruses like Zika and herpes simplex can infect the cornea and spread to other parts of the body.

The study, which appears in the journal Cell Reports, cautions that other tissue near the cornea, including tear ducts and conjunctiva, may not resist infection. Prior research has also shown that some viruses can shed in tears, though it is not known whether that is true of coronavirus. That means it’s important for healthcare workers to wear eye protection in addition to other PPE. Further research may someday indicate eye protection is not necessary.

UC cardiologist develops COVID app for Black communities

A cardiologist at the University of Cincinnati is developing an app with COVID-19 and other health-related information specifically for Black communities. Donald Lynch, assistant professor of cardiovascular health and disease at UC, wants to empower Black people to help fight the disease that is disproportionally affecting their communities.

In Ohio, 14% of residents are Black, but Black people account for more than a quarter of COVID-19 hospitalizations. After a survey of stakeholder groups to determine what info people want, Lynch will roll out a pilot version of the app. He says that in addition to COVID-19, the app will likely include info about cardiovascular disease and other diseases that impact Black people disproportionately. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Georgia Southern University are collaborating on the project. The work is funded in part by a $25,000 grant from the Association of Black Cardiologists.

PANDEMIC INNOVATION

Cleaning COVID-19 aerosol out of indoor air

Dynamics Inc., a Pittsburgh company, has invented a product that deactivates aerosolized COVID-19 virus from indoor air. The product, dubbed Nanowave Air, looks like a rocket on top of a tripod. It deploys four motors to pull in air at high speed and uses high-intensity ultraviolet light to destroy the virus. Multiple lab tests, including the NIAID Biodefense Laboratory Network, confirmed the device deactivated 99% of coronavirus.

The $3,450 Nanowave Air has other tricks up its sleeve. Besides cleaning the air, it can also provide a direct stream of clean air to an individual, such as a patient in a dental office. Or it can move air with virus pathogens in a desired direction. Dynamics Inc. is a spinoff of Carnegie Mellon University. Its main business is manufacturing flexible electronics.

REACH OUT

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