The relationship between science, technology and society during the Covid-19 pandemic
The case of Biomedical Equipment in Canada
Student names (alphabetical order): Aigerim Begalina, Ahmed Bellil, Shayman-Reza Labadlia, Jeremy Lafreniere, Leila Loubi, Patryk Luksza
Supervisor: Gita Ghiasi
Course: ENGR-392-2204-RR
Abstract
The development of biomedical equipment can help keep Canadian society safe, healthy, and functional during the COVID-19 thanks to its direct application in the medical field. The focus of this study is to analyse the scientific research trends and patterns revolving around the development of biomedical equipment over the period 2015-2020. This helps identify the actors and the institutions involved in this technology. The main purpose of this project is to investigate the relationship between the scientific research and the Canadian society concerning employment, wage, and pandemic impact. The bibliometric analysis is based on publications, patent, keyword, company, and socio-economic data analysis, using Inspec analytics, Compendex, StatCan, and MergentOnline databases. This shows the role and the involvement each of academia, government and industry has in biomedical equipment development. Our findings uncover that the Canadian institutions are not prolifically publishing in this field and that the relevant industries are marked by a largely male-dominated workforce. These findings are beneficial to policymakers and researchers to make strategic decisions on the direction they should be taking in terms of future research.