Letters Photo credit: The University of Surrey


It's a crucial question: To measure or not to measure?


failure, extreme health scenarios and growing death rates, it seems there is one certainty amongst the blanket of uncertainty that we are facing: It is the scientists and technologists who will provide the answers and solutions that humanity requires to haul us out of this abyss. Te solutions, it would seem, lie with the scientists and technology – rather than the politicians. Te US now has an estimated figure


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exceeding 6,000,000 recorded infected victims, with more than 190,000 fatalities. In the UK, 52,026 fatalities mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate on the 14th of August 2020 (ONS – Office of National Statistics). An infection level over 329,000 in a population of 66 million seems staggeringly high, especially since during the peak of the pandemic there were days that reflected more fatalities in the UK than in the entire EU combined! Looking back on the Spanish flu crisis


between 1918-1920, this pandemic took some 50 million from the 500 million infected, equivalent to about a third of the global population at the time. History has placed the focus instead on the loss of life during World War I, but, in fact, the death toll of the pandemic far exceed the war – in real terms. We need to learn from history, and the


scientists have warned the politicians of the real possibility of pandemics but little or no heed was paid by many governments. We did not learn from the lessons of the Spanish flu, Ebola, SARS or, indeed, the more recent 2009 H1N1! If we are to prevent the upscaling of


COVID-19 towards these terrifying levels, long-term we clearly have to take some substantial measures – now! – not later. Whilst there is still much controversy surrounding


s we struggle through the quagmire that is COVID-19, a pandemic that’s bringing the entire world to the brink of catastrophic financial


lockdown, it may be the only course open to most governments in the 213-country pandemic – as without a clear vaccine solution, we simply have to adhere to the measures of washing hands, wearing masks and social distancing, if the biblical mortality figures of H1N1 are to be avoided over the next few years. Te coming together of nations, their


scientists and politicians, working in harmony against the ravages of this virulent and seemingly unstoppable enemy, is the only way to ensure the safety of the global population and the containment of COVID-19 for this generation and the next. Te “herd immunity” concept of the UK


government may not be a solution, given the results of the latest studies looking at residual antibody presence following infection of an individual, which seems to deplete as time passes. ‘Survival of the Fittest’ is NOT a humane


option, so scientists and technologists have to toil as if their lives depended on it – as humanity depends on them!


Checking symptoms One of the main symptoms of the presence of COVID-19 in an individual is an increase in body temperature. So far – so simple. Temperature measurement has been used widely in places like South Korea, at airports, shops, even at supermarket entrances, to check the general public at entry points using either handheld or body scanners for the measurement. From an electronics perspective, a huge


number of these temperature measurement devices and systems are needed with high reliability, in order to provide the first line of defence towards preventing the spread of COVID-19. By identifying those people who are carriers of the virus and isolating them, it has been shown mathematically that we can greatly curb the spread of the disease. Te electronics industry’s expertise can’t


really help with the latter sets of symptoms, however. Te desperate search for securing


60 September/October 2020 www.electronicsworld.co.uk


enough treatment equipment once the diagnosis process is complete has resulted in a desperate rush to acquire ventilators by governments and hospitals alike. Shortages and panic-buying across the world has resulted in huge shortfalls of equipment. Tere was a concerted response to build ventilators and this was addressed with great enthusiasm and vigour by component suppliers and OEMs across the globe, who have risen to the challenge of producing the equipment in the shortest possible time. Critical to this, however, is ensuring


efficacy and the need to operate reliably in an extremely pressurised man-machine interface of the ITUs in hospital settings, where medical staff with full PPE were working 12-hour shiſts. Te need to cope with very vulnerable patients and require any equipment to work as faultlessly and easily as is possible, is paramount. Of course, more sophisticated


measurement is required to confirm infection in the person – as a raised temperature is common enough in a great number of diseases.


The challenges of testing At the sharp end of medical practice across the world, it has been found that the COVID-19 virus may not show outward symptoms at all – as highlighted by the World Healthcare Organization. Tis creates a far greater challenge for medical staff and governments to address. It means contagious individuals can go about the community spreading the virus without any indication to the people being infected, which is why it is imperative that social distancing measures must be adhered to. In practical terms, the various types


of tests administered in hospital, care homes and self-administered at home give varying results in terms of accuracy and interpretation, so the entire issue of testing is not straightforward at all. Unless science and technology can develop accurate low-cost tests – easy to administer


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