Fintech and Payments

Advances in financial technology have fundamentally changed the way in which the payments sector operates. However, the rate of change means that regulation has struggled to keep pace. This chapter looks at some of the elements of financial technology that have changed the landscape and analyses regulatory initiatives that have accompanied technological advances or subsequently developed. In addition, this chapter examines the regulatory overhauls conducted in both the EU and the UK, as well as the regulatory challenges posed by cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technologies. The chapter also examines potential future trends in financial technology and regulation and sets out the effects of the UK’s departure from the EU and the Covid-19 pandemic on the use of financial technology in payments. © The Editor and Contributors Severally 2022.

The novel Mechanical Ventilator Milano for the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper presents the Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM), a novel intensive therapy mechanical ventilator designed for rapid, large-scale, low-cost production for the COVID-19 pandemic. Free of moving mechanical parts and requiring only a source of compressed oxygen and medical air to operate, the MVM is designed to support the long-term invasive ventilation often required for COVID-19 patients and operates in pressure-regulated ventilation modes, which minimize the risk of furthering lung trauma. The MVM was extensively tested against ISO standards in the laboratory using a breathing simulator, with good agreement between input and measured breathing parameters and performing correctly in response to fault conditions and stability tests. The MVM has obtained Emergency Use Authorization by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in healthcare settings during the COVID-19 pandemic and Health Canada Medical Device Authorization for Importation or Sale, under Interim Order for Use in Relation to COVID-19. Following these certifications, mass production is ongoing and distribution is under way in several countries. The MVM was designed, tested, prepared for certification, and mass produced in the space of a few months by a unique collaboration of respiratory healthcare professionals and experimental physicists, working with industrial partners, and is an excellent ventilator candidate for this pandemic anywhere in the world.