‘Coronathon’ winners rush to find solutions

The winners of Coronathon Türkiye, a hackathon organized to harness ideas aiming at countering the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic, are now in a rush to put their innovative solutions into practice.

Among some 1,500 applicants 12 of the projects were selected to be granted financial support and promotion from over 120 mentors and stakeholders including the Technology and Industry Ministry, innovation centers of the Turkish prestigious universities, chambers of commerce, nongovernmental organizations and private companies.

"It is essential that the implementation of the selected ideas is stepped up, and they can create an effect immediately," Coronathon Türkiye spokesperson and Director of Boğaziçi University Entrepreneurship Center Oğuzhan Aygören told Hürriyet Daily News.

Although the selection process is over, Coronathon Türkiye will continue to promote and support new projects targeting solutions to the problems caused by the pandemic, said Aygören.

Medibook, a tele-health platform providing online medical consultation, was granted 20,000 Turkish Liras (roughly $3,100). It offers patients suffering from diseases other than COVID-19 a secure online communication with health professionals. Those suspected coronavirus patients under quarantine at home also will be able to be monitored via Medibook without requiring a physical contact.
Özel Doktorum (My Private Doctor) is a similar application based on artificial intelligence.
"Patients will be able to learn what kind of a healthcare service they need through an analysis of their sickness symptoms," Metin Yeşiltepe, a medical doctor and one of the developers, told Hürriyet Daily News.

"We are in the process of developing the application. We will try to...