Researchers need help to obtain data about experiences of the pandemic

A team of health researchers at Aalto are gathering information about everyone’s experiences of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, to help identify problems that engineers and researchers can provide solutions for.

Everyday findings recorded in an online survey can help researchers find ways to curb the impact of the corona epidemic, so the team are interested in your observations about how the crisis has affected you or other people, and changes it has made to your routine and activities or to the workings of the society. You can find more details about the survey on their website, coronaresponse.fi, and you can fill out the questionnaire below.

“People may mention hazards and risk situations where the virus may spread like entering your PIN code at the checkout in a shop,” says project manager Otto Olavinen, project manager of the study.

This survey is the first part of a special Biodesign mission. Normally in a Biodesign project, an interdisciplinary team with 3 or 4 members makes observations in a hospital clinic for a month. Typically, in this immersion period, about 250 observations are recorded, of which the working group forms about 100 “need statements”. From these, they select the most important ones and strive to develop a technical solution for one of them. The process takes almost a year and, if successful, produces a commercializable solution.

”The identified needs may relate to the problems caused by the epidemic in homes and workplaces where people have moved to telecommuting or forced leave while isolating from their relatives and friends," adds Professor Risto Ilmoniemi, who is one of the founders of the project.

However, Corona Biodesign is going to be carried out very quickly. The people who provide the observations, those who analyze them and those who seek solutions and develop them are mainly different individuals. The aim in Corona Biodesign is to put the solutions into practice without delay. More information: www.biodesignfinland.fi

“The solutions emerging from this project may be broader and require expertise from different disciplines. We are looking for researchers from across Finnish universities to volunteer for the project” says Professor Heikki Nieminen, the coordinator of the the Biodesign Finland program.

Aalto University has several research projects in various fields to help in the midst of the corona crisis. Aalto Health Platform is publishing a questionnaire specifically targeted at healthcare personnel, asking to identifyproblems or needs related to the corona pandemic that Aalto University could help with. Other ongoing projects include mathematical modeling of the pandemic, research into the airborne transmission of the coronavirus, and the development of sterilisation of indoor spaces. In addition, the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics, established by Aalto University, Hanken and the University of Helsinki, has established a situation room to support ministries and other public authorities in economic policy-making during the coronavirus crisis.

Further Information:

Otto Olavinen
Project Manager
Aalto University
[email protected]
Te. +358 40 763 1918

Heikki Nieminen
Professor
Aalto University
[email protected]
Tel. +358 50 5019280

Risto Ilmoniemi
Professor
Aalto University
[email protected]
Tel. +358 50 5562964