ULB/ERASME
" Severe COVID-19 patients have a greater risk of long-term health issues and sometimes develop permanent lung damage or fibrosis needing a long treatment to enhance their quality of life. The project aims to better quantify the breathing parameters of a patient to assess his revalidation evolution. A 3D image acquisition based system, provides contacless and non invasive measure. The system can be used as a complementary diagnosis tools as well for a quantitative follow up. "
Funding: So far the project is supported by volunteering inside the ULB/Laboratory of Image Synthesis and Analysis (LISA) and the Erasme Hospital
Contact: Olivier Debeir < This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> & Olivier Van Hove < This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Erasme Hospital
" Precise the frequency of thrombosis events in COVID19 patients "
Funding: No need
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain
" We are designing bacteria that produces the essential protease of COVID-19 and whose activity is associated with sensitivity to a specific antibiotics. This bacteria is a powerful platform for screening potential inhibitors of the protease (the bacteria becomes resistant to the antibiotics if the protease is inhibited). We will use it to screen large combinatorial libraires of cyclic peptides that will be produced by the bacteria as well. "
Funding: Lab funds. FRNS grant application ongoing.
Contact: Patrice Soumillion Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain Place Croix du Sud 4-5 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve

Aseptic Technologies SA
" Table-top equipment for FFP2 mask decontamination by means of UV-C, developed jointly by Lasea s.a. and Aseptic Technologies s.a. Allows re-use of FFP2 masks up to 5 times (under validation process) "
Contact: Patrick Baleriaux CEO Aseptic Technologies s.a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Malcourant Mécanique
" We have developed a semi-automatic machine to weld polyethylene sheets in order to make the COVID-19 protective mask envelope. This development has been carried out entirely in-house, study - manufacture - assembly. We called the company ICS to improve the working conditions for the welding jaws. "
Contact: malcourant-mecanique.be incosol4u.com

ULiège, CHU - Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium
" Nous faisons face à une pandémie d'infection COVID-19. Ce virus pathogène est source de complications pulmonaires aggravant fortement le pronostic de nos patients. De nos jours, tant les mécanismes physiopathologiques en cause que les marqueurs de sévérité de l'atteinte restent indéterminés. Il apparaît donc comme urgent de pouvoir identifier des marqueurs diagnostiques, pronostiques et prédictifs pour nos patients. Dans ce contexte, plusieurs voies rapidement explorables nous apparaissent comme critiques. Le but final de cette étude est de contribuer à une prise en charge plus ciblée des patients porteurs d'une infection au SRAS-Cov-2. "
Funding: Fonds Léon Frederic
Publication References: Dix publications représentatives : 1) Prevention of murine radiogenic thymic lymphomas by tumor necrosis factor or by marrow grafting. HUMBLET C, GREIMERS R, DELVENNE P, DEMAN J, BONIVER J, DEFRESNE MP. J Natl Cancer Inst 88 (1996), 824-831. IF...

Read more: Ph. DELVENNE, FNRS Research Director / Chef de service Anatomie pathologique - J. GUIOT, Chef de...

GIGA-Institute, ULiège - FNRS
" In this project, we study the epitranscriptomic regulation of the SARS-CoV-2. Based on analyses of the viral genome, we investigate the cellular machineries required for the viral replicative cycle. Our goal is to identify possible viral vulnerabilities that can be exploited for the development of innovative anti-viral therapeutic strategies. We investigate possible new therapeutic opportunities based on the analyses of the viral genomic organization and evolution. We speculate that specific cellular machineries are needed to support the viral replicative cycle. Our goal is uncover new antiviral therapeutic strategies based on the viral epitranscriptomic regulation, mRNA translation and protein expression. "
Funding: WELBIO & ULIEGE
Publication References: Rapino F, Delaunay S, Rambow F, Zhou Z, Tharun L, De Tullio P, Sin O, Shostak, Schmitz S, Piepers J, Ghesquière B, Karim L, Charloteaux B, Jamart D, Florin A, Lambert C, Rorive A, Jerusalem G...

Read more: Pierre CLOSE, FNRS Research Associate - Francesca RAPINO, Doctor

ULiège
" Using digital fabrication machines (laser cutter, 3D printing), the Fablab of the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department of the Université de Liège has produced protective solutions (mainly Protective Face Shields) to protect healthcares from aerosol projection. These protective solutions have been distributed to the caregivers in hospitals in the region of Liège. A multidisciplinary team (PhD students and technicians under the supervision of a academic professor) at the Fablab from the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department of the Université de Liège (Belgium) has developed and produced emergency protective solutions against Covid-19 for hospitals and caregivers. Most of these solutions have been developed using digital fabrication machines (laser cutter, 3D printers,...). We have produced mainly Protective Face Shields to protect caregivers from aerosol projection. A few thousand protections have been produced and distributed to caregivers from the CHU of...

Read more: Pierre Duysinx, Professor - Simon Bauduin - Pablo Alarcon - Trillet Denis - Joffrey Coheur - Laura...

UCLouvain - UNamur
" One of the key determining factors in viral infection is the entry of the virus into the host cells. Different CoVs including MHV, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV have been consistently demonstrated to engage the endocytic pathway as the main mechanism for viral entry into a variety types of host cells. At present, the entry mechanisms and the implication of the endocytic pathway of the new emerging SARS-CoV-2 have not been reported directly. It is known that SARS-CoV-2 utilizes the same receptor of SARS-CoV, which is angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) for viral entry into the host cells. Since SARS-CoV-2 also binds to the same ACE2 receptor as SARS-CoV it is highly possible that this new CoV utilizes the same endocytic pathway for entry into the host cells. Besides, a recent report suggests that SARS-CoV-2 invaded host cells via another route of CD147-spike protein. Our lab is studying the endocytosis mechanism of several plasma membrane receptors previously...

Read more: Pierre Morsomme, Professor - Henri-François Renard, Professor

HUDERF and ULB
" Role of Children in Sars-Cov-2 transmission, Heath Care Worker protection, Paediatric epidemiology and disease burden "
Funding: FNRS funding under assessment.
Contact: Prof Pierre Smeesters Academic Children Hospital Queen Fabiola Molecular Bacteriology Laboratory, ULB This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain 
"Des données récentes suggèrent qu'une réponse exacerbée du système immunitaire face au SARS-CoV-2 pourrait contribuer à l'aggravation des symptômes des patients placés en soins intensifs. Ce phénomène est bien connu des immunobiologistes. En effet, certains traitements d'immunothérapie du cancer visant à inhiber PD-1 et/ou CTL-4 ou à administrer des lymphocytes T autologues porteurs de récepteur chimérique (CAR-T cells) peuvent avoir des effets secondaires similaires à cet emballement de la réponse immunitaire, tels qu'une tempête cytokinique. Ces thérapies visent à restimuler les lymphocytes T CD8 dits « épuisés », qui se développent à la suite de la persistance d'un pathogène et de l'inflammation qu'il provoque, lors d'une infection virale chronique ou lors d'un cancer. Vu cette similitude entre les effets secondaires des traitements réactivateurs du système immunitaire et de la réaction de certains patients à l'infection par le SARS-CoV2, une identification du phénotype...

Read more: Pierre VAN DER BRUGGEN, Professor

UCLouvain - Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
" 3D printing of protective visors "
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Any-Shape
" Production of nasopharyngeal swabs using 3D printing "
Contact: Roger Cocle CEO This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UMONS, Materia Nova - Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
" Development of a test for the antiviral activity of a coating, material or textile. "
Contact: Contact: Pr. Ruddy Wattiez, Vice-rector of research and innovation of the university of Mons This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UMONS - Faculty of Engineering - ILIA and ISIA Departments
" This study allows an early Covid-19 diagnosis by using AI and explainable based classification and detection methods applied to CT and X-ray datasets. Many datasets form several hospitals in Belgium are used. The goal of the project is to use AI based methods to identify Covid-19 patients. Explainable AI methods are used to provide efficient interpretation and visualization tools for the classification and detection results obtained. The second goal of this project is to create a benchmark dataset composed of chest CT and X-ray database related to Covid-19 disease. To this aim, a semi-automatic annotation tool is developed in order to allow fast image annotation by radiologists. - Explainable artificial intelligence applied to Covid-19 detection based on CT and X-ray images. - Annotation tool development to build a benchmark database. "
Funding: University of Mons - Faculty of Engineering
Publication References: ...

Read more: Saïd Mahmoudi, Professor - Thierry Dutoit, Full Professor - Sidi Ahmed Mahmoudi, Professor- Xavier...