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UCL is contributing to national effort with space, equipment and consumables.
Equipment donations to the national effort
We have already taken steps to support the NHS and the national effort to tackle COVID-19 by donating kit ranging from sophisticated ThermoFisher virus detecting machines through to face masks and eye protection equipment and by the manufacture of crucial alcohol hand gels.
- ThermoFisher PCR (polymer chain reaction) machines
In response to a plea by UK Government, multiple UCL departments have provided 16 sophisticated ThermoFisher virus detecting machines. PCR machines can analyse a patient’s saliva/swab sample, and take just a few hours to detect the presence of a virus' RNA.
This will enable thousands more people to be tested for Covid-19.
- Personal protective equipment
Appeals across UCL School of Life and Medical Sciences and UCL Chemistry have led to the donation of a range of essential PPE including face masks, eye protection equipment and nitrile gloves. These essential supplies and equipment have now been delivered to NHS coordination centres.
There have been a number of additional requests for equipment, consumables, and laboratory PPE, to support PHE and hospitals, and we are setting up a project team to ensure we have a coordinated response across UCL, and that collection of equipment is possible given the reducing number of staff currently working at UCL.
- Antimicrobial hand wash
Teams from UCL Chemistry and UCL School of Pharmacy are working to bridge any gap in supply by manufacturing antimicrobial hand wash for use at UCLH.
The first batch of hand sanitiser is in progress and will be distributed to UCLH following approval by the Health and Safety Executive.
- UCL-Ventura Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices
The UCL-Ventura breathing aid is a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device that supports patients with breathing difficulties.
This CPAP has been developed as a collaboration between UCL, University College London Hospital and Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains. The design is based on an existing off-patent CPAP system that has been further modified to optimise oxygen consumption.
The government has ordered up to 10,000 UCL-Ventura CPAP devices to be delivered to the NHS. To help meet international need, we have also released the designs and manufacturing instructions for free.
Supporting diagnostic facilities
At this stage, we have not established out own diagnostic facility.
- Public Health England have taken a centralised approach to testing. We have provided them with the relevant equipment for the UK’s testing facility near Milton Keynes.
- We are also supporting other testing initiatives such as the Crick Covid-19 Consortium and the London Viral Testing Alliance.
In a rapidly evolving situation, we will continue assess the situation to ensure that our actions best support the National Testing strategy. We will retain the equipment necessary to continue our own vital COVID-19 research.