Supporting Technologies for COVID-19 Prevention: Systemized Review

Abstract

Background During COVID-19, clinical and health care demands have been on the rapid rise. Major challenges that have arisen during the pandemic have included a lack of testing kits, shortages of ventilators to treat severe cases of COVID-19, and insufficient accessibility to personal protective equipment for both hospitals and the public. New technologies have been developed by scientists, researchers, and companies in response to these demands. Objective The primary objective of this review is to compare different supporting technologies in the subjugation of the COVID-19 spread. Methods In this paper, 150 news articles and scientific reports on COVID-19–related innovations during 2020-2021 were checked, screened, and shortlisted to yield a total of 23 articles for review. The keywords “COVID-19 technology,” “COVID-19 invention,” and “COVID-19 equipment” were used in a Google search to generate related news articles and scientific reports. The search was performed on February 1, 2021. These were then categorized into three sections, which are personal protective equipment (PPE), testing methods, and medical treatments. Each study was analyzed for its engineering characteristics and potential social impact on the COVID-19 pandemic. Results A total of 9 articles were selected for review concerning PPE. In general, the design and fabrication of PPE were moving toward the direction of additive manufacturing and intelligent information feedback while being eco-friendly. Moreover, 8 articles were selected for reviewing testing methods within the two main categories of molecular and antigen tests. All the inventions endeavored to increase sensitivity while reducing the turnaround time. However, the inventions reported in this review paper were not sufficiently tested for their safety and efficiency. Most of the inventions are temporary solutions intended to be used only during shortages of medical resources. Finally, 6 articles were selected for the review of COVID-19 medical treatment. The major challenge identified was the uncertainty in applying novel ideas to speed up the production of ventilators. Conclusions The technologies developed during the COVID-19 pandemic were considered for review. In order to better respond to future pandemics, national reserves of critical medical supplies should be increased to improve preparation. This pandemic has also highlighted the need for the automation and optimization of medical manufacturing.

Peer Review of “Supporting Technologies for COVID-19 Prevention: Systemized Review”

“…While some of the studies report that these technologies make a major impact on the management of COVID-19 despite some challenges in their real-life usage, others acknowledge that COVID-19 control is critical, which calls for regular stocktaking, given the rapid advances in the field. Following the above, the authors of the paper “Supporting Technologies for COVID-19 Prevention: Systemized Review,” [ 1 ] in an attempt to stay on top of these advances, investigated the emerging technologies relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The topic addressed in this paper is of interest to the journal’s readership and the international community.…”

“…I acknowledge that the authors of the paper titled “Supporting Technologies for COVID-19 Prevention: Systemized Review” [ 1 ] have done well to improve on the overall structure and presentation of the paper, with a much better flow. Comments that were made in the previous round were based on the understanding that this was a standard “systematic review” type paper, but this is not the case.…”

“…1. Recommendation #3: I am happy that the authors of this paper [ 1 ] improved on the results following the recommendation in point 3, but this recommendation was primarily referring to the Results and Conclusion subsections in the Abstract. The current wording in the Results of the Abstract should be moved to the Methods subsection of the Abstract.…”

Authors' Responses to Peer Reviews of “Supporting Technologies for COVID-19 Prevention: Systemized Review”

“…While some of the studies report that these technologies make a major impact in the management of COVID-19 despite some challenges in their real-life usage, others acknowledge that COVID-19 control is critical, which calls for regular stock-taking, given the rapid advances in the field. Following the above, the authors of the paper “Supporting Technologies for COVID-19 Prevention: Systemized Review,” [ 2 ] in an attempt to stay on top of these advances, investigated the emerging technologies relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The topic addressed in this paper is of interest to the journal’s readership and the international community.…”

“…I acknowledge that the authors of the paper titled “Supporting Technologies for COVID-19 Prevention: Systemized Review”[ 2 ] have done well to improve on the overall structure and presentation of the paper, with a much better flow. Comments that were made in the previous round were based on the understanding that this was a standard “systematic review” type paper, but this is not the case.…”