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. 2021 Feb 16:9:607677.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.607677. eCollection 2021.

ARC: An Open Web-Platform for Request/Supply Matching for a Prioritized and Controlled COVID-19 Response

Jean-Denis Courcol  1 , Cédric F Invernizzi  2 , Zachary C Landry  3 , Mikhaél Minisini  4 , Dieter A Baumgartner  3 , Sebastian Bonhoeffer  5 , Barbara Chabriw  4 , Estelle E Clerc  3 , Michael Daniels  6   7 , Pavlo Getta  1 , Matthieu Girod  4 , Kinga Kazala  8 , Henry Markram  1 , Axel Pasqualini  4 , Clara Martínez-Pérez  3 , François J Peaudecerf  3 , Margit S Peaudecerf  9 , Ulrike Pfreundt  3 , Benjamin R K Roller  6   7 , Jonasz Słomka  3 , Marie Vasse  5 , Jeanette D Wheeler  3 , César M J A Metzger  2 , Roman Stocker  3 , Felix Schürmann  1
Affiliations

ARC: An Open Web-Platform for Request/Supply Matching for a Prioritized and Controlled COVID-19 Response

Jean-Denis Courcol et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

In 2020 the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic putting entire governments and civil societies in crisis mode. Around the globe unprecedented shortages of equipment and qualified personnel were reported in hospitals and diagnostic laboratories. When a crisis is global, supply chains are strained worldwide and external help may not be readily available. In Switzerland, as part of the efforts of the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force, we developed a tailor-made web-based tool where needs and offers for critical laboratory equipment and expertise can be brought together, coordinated, prioritized, and validated. This Academic Resources for COVID-19 (ARC) Platform presents the specialized needs of diagnostic laboratories to academic research groups at universities, allowing the sourcing of said needs from unconventional supply channels, while keeping the entities tasked with coordination of the crisis response in control of each part of the process. An instance of the ARC Platform is operated in Switzerland (arc.epfl.ch) catering to the diagnostic efforts in Switzerland and sourcing from the Swiss academic sector. The underlying technology has been released as open source so that others can adopt the customizable web-platform for need/supply match-making in their own relief efforts, during the COVID-19 pandemic or any future disaster.

Keywords: COVID-19; crisis response; customizable match-making web platform; diagnostic supplies; easy deployment; open source; prioritization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Academic Resources for COVID-19 Platform (ARC): Actors and high-level workflow. ARC is designed to facilitate the sourcing of critical supplies needed by diagnostic laboratories from academic laboratories, while allowing a central decision-maker (Spiez Laboratory) to prioritize and approve individual agreements.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The match-making workflow.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The match completion workflow.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Data model for the ARC platform.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Screenshot of the Academic Resources for COVID-19 Platform operated in Switzerland under the URL: https://arc.epfl.ch/.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Federal Council. Ordinance on Measures to Combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19) (2020). COVID19 Ordinance 1/ SR 818.101.24. Available online at: https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/20200619/index.html
    1. Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force . Situation Report: Effective Reproductive Number. (2020) Available online at: https://ncs-tf.ch/en/situation-report (accessed July 10, 2020).
    1. Federal Council. Ordinance 3 on Measures to Combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19) (2020). COVID19 Ordinance 3/.SR 818.101.24. Available online at: https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/20201773/index.html
    1. Ranney ML, Griffeth V, Jha AK. Critical supply shortages–the need for ventilators and personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. N Engl J Med. (2020) 382:e41. 10.1056/NEJMp2006141 - DOI - PubMed

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