Solutions and best practice examples

Get inspired by COVID-19 response actions from European SMEs, clusters and institutions

SWEDEN: Innovative testing facilities

Submitted by Carolina Turcato on 17 April 2020.

An inspiring example of how companies from the Stockholm region retool operations to assist in the fight against the coronavirus is the story of A23 Lab AB. Until a few weeks ago, the clinical laboratory A23 Lab based at the Biomedical Center in Uppsala, only conducted testing for prostate cancer using a proprietary test. Now, it’s redirecting its efforts towards COVID-19 sampling as an official...

Respirator developed by TU Delft students

Submitted by Veronika Muller on 17 April 2020.

Three master students of clinical technology at the TU Delft are fighting at the forefront in the current Coronavirus crisis. In just three weeks and with support of their professor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the AirOne respirator is now ready for use. The first 500 units were already ordered by the Dutch Ministry. These respirators are manufactured on the TU Delft campus and should be...

BULGARIA: online meetings for clusters on COVID-19

Submitted by Carolina Turcato on 15 April 2020.

Over the last two weeks, Sofia Investment Agency (InvestSofia) and Innovative Sofia, together with the direct participation of the Sofia Deputy Mayor for Digitalization, Mr. Vladimir Danailov, have been organising online meetings with a number of industry clusters and associations in Sofia, Bulgaria. The group e-met with the Bulgarian Startup Association (BESCO), the Association for Innovation...

App to bundle 3D printing capacities throughout Europe

Submitted by Carolina Turcato on 15 April 2020.

AstroPrint, a Malaga-based software company specilised on 3D printing, has just launched an App to help tackle the Corona crisis. Through the AstroPrint Clusters Platform, Regional Coordinators can manage 'Clusters' of 3D Printer owners and makers and distribute the medical supplies they print/make to hospitals. This nurses and doctors get Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) they need to stay...

AUSTRALIA: Technical requirements for manufacturers of ventilators

Submitted by Veronika Muller on 15 April 2020.

The Australian government is increasing the availability of invasive ventilators to support Intensive Care Units (ICUs) throughout the country. Therefore, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has published new minimum technical requirements for domestically manufactured ventilators. These requirements ensure the suitability of ventilators for supply and use in Australian hospitals when...

Coronavirus: 5 useful things to know

Submitted by Veronika Muller on 15 April 2020.

The European Commission is working closely with EU Member States to fight the pandemic in a coordinated way because decisions taken by one country will affect people across the Union. The situation is changing very quickly so to help you keep up with the latest developments, here are five things that may be useful to know from the official Medium account of the European Commission: Important steps...

The faces of European solidarity

Submitted by Veronika Muller on 15 April 2020.

A team of European doctors and nurses from Romania and Norway, deployed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, is being immediately dispatched to Milan and Bergamo to support Italian medical staff working around the clock to battle the coronavirus. Furthermore, Austria has offered over 3,000 litres of disinfectant to Italy via the Mechanism. Several other EU Member States have also sent...

SPAIN: Collaboration to overcome the crisis

Submitted by Rita Andrade on 15 April 2020.

How do you advance in combatting the coronavirus crisis? Looking at the following example, the answer is clear: through collaboration and joining resources! A group of five Spanish citizens managed to bring four robots from China to Spanish hospitals in order to rapidly analyse the mass testing samples of COVID-19. Each of these robots is capable of processing 2,400 test samples, which can result...

ROMANIA: Support for companies in medical authorisation

Submitted by Rita Andrade on 15 April 2020.

ROHEALTH Cluster, the Romanian Health and Bioeconomy Cluster, supports private companies in the process of approving / authorizing medical devices by providing guidance about the steps to be followed, contacts of public authorities involved in the process, and more interesting information on the Corona crisis. All information is published on their promotional channels: ROHEALTH Website, news...

SLOVAKIA: Initiatives to overcome the Corona crisis

Submitted by Rita Andrade on 15 April 2020.

In Slovakia, the members of Košice IT Valley Cluster together with representatives of other companies in the east of Slovakia have established the initiative “IT pomáha” (IT helps) which aims at helping local health and social care facilities to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial help collected will be used to purchase the necessary protection material with the following priority: For...