Thales Fully Mobilized to Support Those on the Frontline

By Printed Electronic Now staff | 05.06.20

Providing critical enabling technology and expertise, covering radiology solutions and ventilators, telemedicine, crisis information management and more.

Thales has rapidly deployed innovative solutions to serve the healthcare providers and other public organizations that are addressing the most critical challenges in the fight against COVID-19 all around the world.

To support frontline medical teams in their missions, Thales is providing critical enabling technology and expertise, covering radiology solutions and ventilators, telemedicine, crisis information management, and the fight against cybercrime.

Radiology solutions & ventilators: The current COVID-19 crisis is creating all kinds of challenges for hospitals and healthcare professionals, who need to rapidly increase capacity and access equipment required for optimal patient care.

Thales is providing radiology solutions whose high-quality X-ray images are crucial in patient triage, aiding in the analysis of lesions and other lung damage. Thanks to the Group’s solutions, healthcare professionals can assess and monitor the status of patients with COVID-19, both in X-ray rooms or at the patient’s bedside.

In response to increased demand for the sensors used in radiology, through its French joint venture Trixell, Thales has recently reorganized its teams.

Thales is also part of the UK consortium committed to delivering ventilators designed by aerospace manufacturers to British hospitals. The first deliveries were made to hospitals mid-April.

Telemedicine: Thales’ connectivity technology, integrated into smart medical devices and online, is supporting the provision of telemedicine services, so doctors can remotely monitor the vital signs of patients in self-isolation or lockdown.

Police and emergency services: Thales is helping the Netherlands Police to facilitate information flow from the different emergency rooms to the crisis centers in the country, where important advice for crisis coordination is continuously being prepared. All information from across the Netherlands is securely combined in one online system, enabling crisis center workers to better assess the overall situation and make better decisions faster.

In France, Thales is supporting emergency services, including the fire service, as they face a huge spike in the number of emergency calls. Also, Thales teams have also mobilized to help France’s Civil Defense agency maintain continuity of operations in support of healthcare services. Thales is providing maintenance, parts and support services to keep the agency’s helicopters flying – and so transporting patients - throughout the crisis. The Group is also helping the CEPA (Center for Practical Experiments and Reception of Naval Aeronautics) in the context of the transformation of NH90 Caïman Marines into medical evacuation helicopters equipped with breathing and oxygen devices.

Technology and AI: In Canada, Thales is enabling regulated industries to bring deep technology research to digital business strategies and AI-infused services. To develop innovative solutions to address the most critical challenges in the fight against COVID-19, the Group has activated nine projects with partners and has applied for government funding, with a focus on boosting the capabilities of healthcare organizations and pharmacies, as well as providing pandemic decision support to public authorities.

Protecting against a cyber-pandemic
During this unprecedented global health crisis, malicious actors are taking advantage of the situation to attack the information systems of companies, organizations and individuals. To minimize the risk of a cyber-pandemic and to help organizations understand and prevent attacks, Thales is closely monitoring the cyber aspect of the crisis through its Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IST) and Cyber Threat Intelligence service. The Group has offered free access to its latest cyber intelligence study and is providing cyber information to medical and social service units as well as charitable organizations.

Securing data, communications and IT systems
Thales is strongly engaged in supporting its clients, partners and civil society to strengthen IT security, to protect data, networks and telecoms. To help make IT secure for company employees, Thales is now offering free access to two remote collaboration solutions — the Citadel professional chat and call app and the Cryptobox secure telework solutions — both of which are already widely used by French government agencies and major enterprise customers. The remote connection to corporate applications and cloud services can also be at risk, especially when employees are working remotely. To help them connect securely, Thales also offers its SafeNet Trusted Access solution, a cloud-based access management service that has seen a recent 100% increase in use, as more people use it to securely access corporate and cloud applications from home.

In Wales, Thales is part of a task force set up to provide free business advice and support – including on IT and secure communications - during the COVID-19 crisis.

Supporting critical services for citizens & raising awareness

Personal identity & benefits
In the US, Thales has mobilized to support federal states in the unique challenges they face. Thales is working to issue new credentials to citizens whose identification expires during the crisis, ensuring they retain access to critical services.

The Group was commended by Commissioner Spencer R. Moore, who leads the Department of Driver Services for the State of Georgia, for swiftly endorsing the department’s emergency plan to provide extended validity cards to their customers.

Thales is also helping some states in the US provide citizens with unemployment benefits more quickly and seamlessly, by issuing payment cards that function similarly to modern debit cards.

In Latin America, public awareness of COVID-19 is being raised thanks to mobile connectivity solutions from Thales that allow healthcare and other public service messages to be distributed on a massive scale. These interactive messages allow the receiver to trigger an action, such as contacting emergency services or requesting information.