What appeared to be science fiction and a gut-wrenching theory, have now become the reality of the world, all thanks to Coronavirus. And, even momentarily, movies like Contagion, Outbreak, and even World War Z, have started to appear like a documentary, instead of outdated yet terrifying science fiction.
Coronavirus or scientifically summoned as COVID-19 has till date–April 6, 2020– murdered economies, killed nearly 82k people worldwide, locked people inside their houses and above all, casted an unending spell of terror amongst people across the globe.
Ongoing problems as a result of Corona Virus-
While technology and medical sciences remain as the epicentre of solutions for Coronavirus, the damage is far from controlled. Health surveillance systems that are centralized are unable to keep a track of coronavirus susceptible cases. More, there is an unprecedented demand for products like hand sanitizer and masks. This disbalance is a clear example of how supply chains cannot be trusted at the time of crisis. Since the pandemic has brought loopholes in both supply chains and technology in the wide open, it is time to discuss the resolutions-
How AI or Artificial Intelligence, 3D Printing along with Blockchain can bury the disconnect of supply chain problems during the pandemic?
Managing the Supply and Demand with AI- Artificial Intelligence with the backup of Machine Learning is able to predict how people would respond in unprecedented times. Unexpected surges in demand can be predicted sooner than the requirement comes out.
HOW? AI can assist in identifying patterns and reveal results like unexpected demands. With this, decision-makers adjust with information overload done by collecting and aggregating data from several sources. Live example-In Chicago, few hospitals are already using AI to identify high-risk patients as they face limitations on COVID-19 testing.
Maintaining Supply chain with 3D Printing- During this time of the surge in demand, mainly in healthcare equipment, 3-D printing can do absolute justice. An Italian hospital in Brescia was able to provide 250 COVID-19 patients with respiratory valves.
“The strengths of 3D printing – be anywhere, print virtually anything, adapt on the fly – make it a capability for helping address shortages of parts related to shields, masks, and ventilators, among other things,”— quotes Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif
Disposable face shields, Ventilators, protective gear, PPE and masks are few products that are under discussion for 3-D printing. HP has already begun with their first dispatch by delivering around 1,000 3D-printed parts to local hospitals, acquired from 3-D printing. The biggest advantage of 3-D printing is that anything can be created at the moment, without the need for expensive tools. This makes manufacturing faster and even more responsive to changing demands.
Ease of verification process with Blockchain– Sale of fake medical equipment and products are already making headlines. Evidently tracking of these products is not possible, and this where Blockchain comes into the plot. Since blockchain provides an open and a distributed record of transactions, anyone can have access to the data, but no one would be able to edit or modify it, hence the privacy along with transparency.
“While it’s probably too late to implement major changes, the coronavirus has proven that the medical supply chain remains an area with a legitimate need for blockchain provenance solutions”--According to a report by NDRC or National Development and Reform Commission.
Final Words- The coronavirus pandemic is a clear example for the generations to come. Mainly for the fact that managing a global crisis involves at least three sets of decisions i.e. preparing, responding and recovering. Clearly, the world right now, neither has the resources nor the resolutions to optimize the damage that is being done. This is a clear shout out to the reality that–We need widespread acceptance and implementation of Artificial intelligence, Blockchain and 3-D printing at large.
Hopefully after the world recovers, and economies evolve, a commission on technological solutions for a pandemic, is declared. Right now, AeoLogic is working in complete cooperation with its clients in the government to support the distraught and to cover the gaps of technological malfunctions during the pandemic.
