Perhaps the most promising aspect of the pandemic was the incredible way that the research, clinical, and engineering communities came together to identify problems and rapidly come up with solutions that could help deal with almost every challenge it posed-personal protective equipment supply issues were solved initially with additive manufacturing (3D printing), diagnostic testing was solved by lab scaling and rapid assay development, drugs were repurposed to address inflammation and immune system overreactions, just to name a few. These close working relationships where clinicians identified unmet needs that were immediately addressed by researchers and scaled by engineers set a pace for innovation and a model for collaboration that should become the standard for how health-related problems are addressed in the future.
展开▼
