In the Media

In an article for TechCrunch, Andy Moss, Connor Spelliscy and John Borthwick highlight several tools developed by MIT researchers to help tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have created a system that allows two patients to share one ventilator. Postdoc Shriya Srinivasan explains the system has "individual channels for each patient, but has controls on them such that you can deliver the appropriate volumes and pressures that each patient needs.”

TechCrunch reporter Kyle Gibson spotlights Humatics, an MIT startup that develops “sensors that enable fast-moving and powerful robots to work alongside humans without accidents.” Gibson explains that Humatics hopes to apply this technology to support “social distancing efforts on commutes, in a pilot application to allow more subway trains to run on a single track.”

Jim Morelli of Boston 25 News reports that a model developed by MIT researchers showed a slight uptick in one measure of the likelihood of the coronavirus spreading.

Researchers from MIT, the University of Oklahoma and elsewhere, along with citizen scientists, have discovered the closest young brown dwarf with a disc, reports Matt Berg for The Boston Globe. The discovery could help scientists learn more about how planets are formed, Berg explains.

Smithsonian reporter Alex Fox writes that MIT researchers have developed a new type of no-slip shoe soul inspired by the Japanese art of kirigami. “The grippy new sole is made of a thin sheet of steel that is riddled with precise cuts that allow it to bristle like the scales of a snake when bent,” writes Fox.

TechCrunch reporter Alex Wilhelm writes about Overjet, an MIT startup “focused on using AI to help dentists and insurance companies understand dental scans.”

Guardian reporter Marina Gerner spotlights Bloomer Tech, a startup founded by several MIT alumnae, which is designing smart bras that gather cardiovascular data to help bridge the medical gender bias gap. “We transformed a typical medical device into everyday medical-grade garments that women will actually want to wear,” says Bloomber Tech co-founder and CEO Alicia Chong Rodriguez ’17, ‘18.

Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. M. Taylor Fravel examines recent actions in a territorial dispute between China and India. “Facing a dramatically slowing economy, criticism for the government’s handling of the outbreak of the coronavirus and worsening ties with many countries,” writes Fravel, “China leaders may feel the need to show strength — and avoid signaling any weakness — over questions of national sovereignty.”

Gizmodo reporter Andrew Liszewski writes that MIT researchers have developed a new material that could help improve the grip on the bottom of any type of shoe. Liszewski notes that the “researchers took a mechanical approach instead of just tweaking a recipe for the rubber used in the soles.”

Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Nick Leiber spotlights how Biobot Analytics, an MIT startup, is analyzing sewage in municipalities around the country to estimate the number of people with Covid-19 in a particular area. Our vision is for this to be deployed across the tens of thousands of wastewater facilities in the U.S.,” explains Biobot Analytics president and co-founder Newsha Ghaeli.

Graduates from MIT, Harvard and BU have developed a low-cost, portable ventilator called the Umbulizer, reports Diti Kohli for The Boston Globe. “A small, white and blue block of metal and plastic, the Umbulizer rhythmically delivers air to patients’ lungs and limbs like a normal ventilator. But it costs less than its hospital-grade counterpart,” writes Kohli.

MIT researchers have developed a kirigami-inspired shoe sole with tiny spikes that pop up from the surface to help prevent falls, reports Nicola Davis for The Guardian. “Walking is a dynamic process so we wanted to develop a system that was also dynamic and could respond to movement,” explains Prof. Giovanni Traverso.

President L. Rafael Reif underscores the importance of a national strategy for strengthening America’s scientific and technological prowess. Reif writes that the Endless Frontiers Act, “would provide a visible, focused and sustained commitment to U.S. research, education and technology transfer, as well as to economic development.”

CNBC reporter Daniel Bukszpan writes about how the MIT E-Vent team developed a prototype open-source low-cost ventilator. Bukszpan notes that the E-Vent design uses an “’Ambu bag,’ or a bag-valve resuscitator, which is a hand-operated resuscitator that’s commonly found in hospital.”