Crowdfunding for research and innovations

3 April 2020

On jebentnodig.nl, Radboud University and Radboud university medical center are collaborating on initiatives to which you can contribute in the fight against corona. The most important initiative is the crowdfunding platform for innovations and scientific research. The organisations are using the campaign slogan that the university launched in September and that has now become much more urgent: ‘You have a part to play’.
 
Our healthcare professionals are the heroes in the fight against corona. They are doing their best in extreme circumstances to provide patients with the best possible care. These circumstances demand innovative solutions. “In order to collect money for this, we’ve set up a crowdfunding platform,” said Marcel Slenders, the director of the Radboud Fund, where the fundraising of the university and the university medical center has been invested. “We are supporting three projects that currently have top priority in the fight against corona.” These are two innovations plus research on the BCG vaccine. All three projects have already started and they need a further financial impulse.”
 
Respirators
IC specialist Hugo Touw and engineers at the Stogger Company have developed an affordable respirator for corona patients. “This enables us to maintain enough capacity at the IC so the staff there can continue to provide the best care,” explained Slenders. “And not only at Radboud university medical center; the design is being shared with companies all over the world. Donations will help us to quickly begin production for Radboud university medical center.”
 
Face masks
The Radboud university medical center’s REshape Center (innovation center) has developed a new type of face mask in a very short time. They are also working on the problem of surgical masks. “We want to work on solutions that will continue to protect our healthcare professionals against the virus so that they can continue to work,” Slenders said. “Financial help will enable us to design, test and perhaps produce protective devices.”
 
Research
And of course, research on the coronavirus is very important, so that we can better fight and prevent the virus. Together with UMC Utrecht, Radboud Professor Mihai Netea has begun a study on the possible efficacy of the vaccine against tuberculosis (the BCG vaccine) to better protect healthcare workers against coronavirus. Slenders: “Our crowdfunding platform will help us to financially support this and future studies on fighting the coronavirus.”
 
For more information, please go to:
https://www.jebentnodig.nl/en/ and
https://corona.voorradboudfonds.nl/?locale=en