5/8/2020

Check out the COVID-19 Challenge winning solutions that will be supported by Vale

Vale announces the winners of the COVID-19 challenge, an initiative financed by Vale in partnership with Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein and Rede Master Dei de Saúde aimed at solutions for fighting the coronavirus. These selected solutions will produce face shields, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, air and mask disinfection devices, ethanol purification kits, psychological assistance platforms, tests for the new COVID-19, technology for remote monitoring of vital signs and more. Approximately USD$1 million will be allocated to nine brazilian and two canadian solutions once the appropriate documentation is finalized.

We have received over 1,800 solutions for five diverse challenge options. Check out the winning solutions below and visit the COVID-19 Challenge page to learn more.

Learn about the winning solutions

Remote Vital Signs Monitoring Technology (Binah): Company location: São Paulo, Brazil

The proposal presented by Binah – a Tel Aviv company based in São Paulo – consists of licensing the use of technology for remote monitoring of vital signs (such as heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiration, and Heart Rate Variability) through any device with a camera. The proposal includes combining this technology with the telemedicine platform of Unimed BH – the partner that will provide assistance and monitor the inhabitants of Belo Horizonte and the metropolitan region in partnership with the city government of Belo Horizonte.

Vale's funding will cover the costs for donation of 39 thousand licenses. Each license will enable the monitoring of a person for three months.
Mass Testing (Neoprospecta): Company location: Santa Catarina, Brazil

Neoprospecta submitted a coronavirus mass testing solution that allows several people to be tested simultaneously. This method is similar to the regular PCR* (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test. The difference is that it allows 16 people to be tested at once by increasing the sampling rate, reducing costs, and maintaining accuracy of the results.

With the funding provided by Vale, the company will be able to scale up its testing capacity from 40,000 to 54,000 people/day. 1,500 tests will be donated to the public sector in the states of Ceará and Santa Catarina. These tests will cover 24,000 people.

* Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a method widely used in molecular biology to rapidly make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it to a large enough amount to study in detail.
Face Shields (Compass 3D): Company location: Minas Gerais, Brazil

Compass 3D is using industrial 3D printers to produce face masks to protect health care professionals against the coronavirus The masks produced have already been approved by the medical staff at Rede Master Dei de Saúde.

With the funding provided by Vale, the company will be able to scale up its testing capacity from 2,300 to 9,200 units/day. 10% of the units sold will be donated to the public sector for two months, benefitting at least 2,000 health care professionals in the city of Belo Horizonte.
Air and Mask Disinfecting Devices (Biolambda): Company location: São Paulo, Brazil

Biolambda submitted a solution to produce masks and recirculating air disinfectant devices for hospital use. The solution consists of a container that disinfects masks and air through air recirculation in a recommended area of up to 150 m². This system uses the UV sterilization method.

With the funding, the company will increase its UVMask (mask disinfecting device) and UVAir (air disinfecting device) production capacity from 200 to 300 units per day. A total of 25 UVMasks and 10 UVAir will be donated to the public sector over the course of five weeks.
Production of Face Shields and Alcohol-Based Sanitizers (UFAM): Company location: Manaus, Brazil

The Federal University of Amazonas (Universidade Federal do Amazonas, UFAM) will increase its current production of face shields by 20 times and alcohol gel by five times. With the funding provided by Vale, the company will be able to increase its production capacity from 250 to 625 units/day. All items produced will be donated to health care institutions.
Production of Face Shields (IFCE): Company location: Ceará, Brazil

The initiative developed by the Instituto Federal do Ceará (Sobral campus) is also focused on production of face shields. With the funding provided by Vale, the company will be able to increase its production capacity from 250 to 625 units/day. All items produced will be donated to health care institutions.
Production of Face Shields (Delfino): Company location: Minas Gerais, Brazil

Delfino’s solution uses 3D printing to produce face shields. The funding will enable the company to increase its production capacity from 500 to 800 units/day. A total of 40,000 face shields will be donated to public hospitals over the course of 16 weeks.
Production of face shields and acrylic boxes (Faceshield4Life): Company location: Bahia, Brazil

Faceshield4Life is an initiative developed by prototyping laboratories in Bahia. The proposed solution comprises production of 40,000 face shields and 200 acrylic boxes to be used by health care professionals over the next six weeks.

With the funding, the company will be able to increase its production of face shields from 200 to 300 units/day and acrylic boxes from 10 to 50 units/day. All items will be donated to public hospitals.
Ethanol purification kits (UFRJ): Company location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) proposed the development of six ethanol purification systems for production of 70% alcohol solutions. The systems will be donated to six partnering institutions. UFRJ has processed more than 2,000 liters of ethanol using a simplified version of the proposed system – the content has been analyzed and considered suitable for use in hospitals. The entire alcohol volume produced from these kits will be distributed to health centers.

The funding will enable the production and donation of six systems to different institutions, allowing a total production of approximately 150,000 liters of alcohol monthly.
Online Therapy Platform (OrienteMe): Company location: São Paulo, Brazil

The solution submitted by OrienteMe, a company based in São Paulo, consists of a platform that offers online therapy services via video call or messaging. The platform is dedicated for health care professionals and others working on the front lines against the COVID-19 pandemic, who find themselves in situations of stress and vulnerability.

The funds will be used to hire more psychologists and staff to expand both the assistance capacity and the infrastructure. This target audience will have access to 33,000 subscriptions (each subscription includes a 30-minute session) and these licenses will cover the region for approximately five months.
Sterilizing Boxes (Team 1305): Location: Ontario, Canada

Team 1305 is a student robotics team that competes in the FIRST Championship, the world’s largest celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for students. Their proposal consists of creating a UV sterilizer box that can be built by health centers (the kit with the equipment and instructions is bought and assembled in the unit). The use of an open source (unpatented) technology combined with the concept of "do it yourself" makes the solution accessible.

The funding will enable the production of 50 kits, which will be donated to small and medium medical clinics in Canada.
Hemodynamic Monitoring (FloSonics Medical): Location: Sudbury, Canada

FloSonics Medical is a start-up that develops and supplies wearable sensors that improve the clinical management of critically ill patients both inside and outside the hospital.

With the funding provided, the company will be able to scale up the production capacity from 100 to 1,000 devices per week. The monitors will be donated directly to hospitals in Canada and possibly to Brazil.