*5.1.2.2 Proposal*

MSS is a system that manages the availability of health personnel to work in different shifts configurations through a dynamic optimization model, which uses stochastic dynamic simulation tools and mathematical programming. The system delivers, through a friendly user interface, a shift planning proposal that minimizes the probability of contagion among personnel.

#### *5.1.2.3 Results*

MSS technology was designed, implemented and successfully put into operation at the Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile (HCUCH) and the Hospital Clínico Herminda Martín de Chillán (South of Chile), two facilities that have been the front line fighting against the coronavirus. In the case of HCUCH, a facility that expanded its Critical Patient Unit as a result of the pandemic, MSS contemplated the design of shifts with a lower risk of infection, which at the same time would be adjusted to the available medical staffing: the 2 × 10 and 4 × 4 shift schedules maintain the same number of hours worked for each department and their implementation reduced the risk of infection among hospital workers by 25%. In the case of the Critical Patient Unit of the Hospital Clínico Herminda Martín, MSS was

#### *Science-Based Approaches to Respond to COVID and Other Public Health Threats*

able to reduce the risk of contagion by 9%. Currently, the MSS team is finishing the validation process in another Chilean health institution.

In the commercial aspects, the team expects a business model based on licensing the technology to companies that have the operational capabilities to carry out the MSS service. In addition, the technology can be used in other areas where shift systems are used, such as retail and mining.

#### *5.1.3 Active protection*

#### *5.1.3.1 Diagnosis*

Personal protective equipment has become unusually important in the current pandemic, so any improvement in its design and materiality is necessary to prevent the infection of medical staff.

#### *5.1.3.2 Proposal*

ActPro is a personal protective equipment, specifically a plastic apron, for health staff use. Given the fact that it has copper nanoparticles incorporated –with antimicrobial and antiviral activity– and due to its ergonomic design, it would prevent SARS-CoV-2 contagion, whether in direct contact with infected patients, or during disposal or replacement PPE process.

#### *5.1.3.3 Results*

To date, it has been designed a model of protective plastic apron according to the needs of medical staff. The team has had a close interaction with personnel from an specific area of the Hospital Dr. Hernán Henríquez Aravena, in Temuco (South of Chile) and concluded that the health staff requires a PPE easy to put on and to take off for disposal. In addition, the team has carried out several evaluations of the polymer used to manufacture the PPE, occupying different concentrations of copper nanoparticles to generate the antimicrobial property. Currently, an external laboratory is certificating the PPE. It is hoped to scale this pilot project to other areas of the same hospital and validate the design and technology of the material containing copper nanoparticles.

Regarding commercial aspects, the team wants to manufacture and sell the plastic apron directly. They also decided to development other PPEs, such as boots, shoe covers, and full body suits, not only for use in the medical field, but also in the food industry and other areas where personnel need to be protected.

Know Hub Chile has been supporting the teams to carry out their respective pilots, and guiding their commercial aspects, such as defining the value proposition, business model, and strengthening the team in commercial issues. Another important point for Know Hub Chile is that the technologies can be scalable and the scientific-technological based ventures can be sustainable over time, continuing beyond the Covid-19 pandemic. For that reason, the corporation has helped the teams to explore other customer segments where the technology can be applied.

### **6. Conclusions**

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic situation has been strongly impacted, especially in Latin American countries that were already in severe recessions and political instability. In Chile, strong public spending has been made to

#### *Science-Based Technological Transfer as a Key Tool in Public Health DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98704*

remedy the consequences of the economic activities that have come to a halt, as well as to support the most vulnerable families. In this context of crisis, the generation of scientific knowledge and its transfer become relevant in society by demonstrating the ability to solve concrete problems, such as the generation of new PCR identification kits, treatment of convalescent plasma, and the development of vaccines, among others. In budgetary terms, it is expected that there will be a sharp cut in public spending in the coming years, and one of the budgets that will be impacted is science, technology and innovation. However, with the consolidation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, it is hoped that the budgets allocated will increase, and that regardless of the prevailing political climate, a greater contribution of GDP will be allocated to scientific and technological development, and continuity will be given to public policies on technology transfer. In this sense, the ministry has created a new entrepreneurship program called "Startup ciencia", to promote the development of technologies with potential, and the budget for the extension of the Hub project is currently being discussed by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID), in order to achieve sustainability. It is hoped that this change in the valuation of the contribution of science to society in a transversal way will result in establishing technological development as an engine for sustainable economic growth, using as a basis the scientific and technological knowledge generated by the country's universities and research centers, with Know Hub Chile being a key element in facilitating the arrival of technologies to the market.

The entities that articulate the technology transfer process -as technology transfer hubs and specifically Know Hub Chile- are able to adapt to extraordinary complex circumstances like the Covid-19 pandemic. In this sense, collaboration and flexibility have marked initiatives such as OpenBridge Covid-19, where technologies developed by universities and STBCs were able to assist health centers in their fight against the current pandemic, accelerating and supporting them to "cross" the "valley of death". So, even though the pandemic has been one of the worst issues that humankind has faced last times, there has also been an opportunity for innovator. In fact, the circumstances have pushed to validate technologies in a real environment and in short periods of time, making a concrete contribution to national public health through technologies coming from academia.

The three initiatives supported by OpenBridge Covid-19 achieved the objective of being piloted in a real environment. It should be noted that within the technological risks assumed by KH supporting these technologies, it was expected that despite the successful piloting, some of them would not raise market interest due to very high entry barriers, low scalable technologies, lack of commercial/operational capabilities of the team, among others. In this sense, Safe Vision technology is the one that has made the most progress towards an early market launch, not only in the medical field but also in other areas, such as retail and mining, industries that would need this kind of technologies and beyond the pandemic. This process is supported by the KH team.

There is still a lot of work ahead for these initiatives to achieve sustainability considering that the pandemic will remain an unresolved issue in the coming months or even years. Also, the teams should be able to look beyond and ensure their continuity supporting health institutions in other needs unrelated to the pandemic, such as improving patient care quality.

### **Acknowledgements**

The authors would like to thank the Know Hub Chile team for reviewing and approving the final version of this work, specifically Fernando Venegas, Javier Ramírez and Eliette Angel.

Know Hub Chile is a project financed by the Corporación de Fomento a la Producción (Corfo), through Project code 15 HUBTT 57326.
