More than a dozen robotics researchers expressed the need for robots to play a greater role in managing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as in future preparedness. They pointed to three broad medical areas where robots can make a difference: clinical care with applications such as telemedicine and decontamination; logistics for delivery and handling of medical waste; and reconnaissance such as quarantine enforcement.

TORONTO – That old military saw “an army marches on its stomach” might just as easily apply to transport of much needed ventilators for patients suffering from the coronavirus. Mounting systems for ground and air ambulances like the Bracket Pro Serie for Ventilators launched March 5 by Quebec City-based Technimount System Inc. are the “soldiers” carrying ventilators and other medical devices for hospital bound patients, Technimount CEO Carl Bouchard told BioWorld.

The stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate March 26 on a vote of 96-0 does more than throw $2.2 trillion into the war against COVID-19. “This is not … a stimulus package. It is emergency relief,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor before the vote.