How AI has Helped in Countering COVID-19
None of us can deny the fact that a contagious virus that originated from the small city of Wuhan, China could be deadly enough to wipe out millions of population from the surface of the earth. Due to the unprecedented increase in cases, this global pandemic has altered people’s lives in both enormous and small ways along with putting governments and healthcare at stake. As the nation struggles with COVID-19, every ounce of technical innovation and intellect utilized to combat the epidemic puts us one step closer to victory. Hence, these innovations appear to be a useful tool in the fight against the coronavirus crisis that has dramatically increased. But still there remains a challenge that how this cutting-edge technology aids healthcare practitioners and public officials in preventing disease transmission.
To address this challenge related to the pandemic crisis, an unprecedented pace of efforts have been taken that can help combat the virus by using AI technologies. These technologies are being used in a variety of fields that can assist curb disease transmission. Different ways that garnered a lot of interest in fighting against COVID-19 are as follows.
1. AI in Prediction and Tracking
AI may be used to anticipate viral transmission and build early warning systems by collecting information from social media platforms, electronic communications, and news sites, as well as to give relevant information about sensitive locations and predict life – threatening diseases.
2. AI in Contact Tracing
AI can enhance mobile health applications in COVID-19, where smart devices like watches, mobile phones, cameras, and a variety of wearable devices may be used for diagnosis, contact tracing, and efficient monitoring.
3. Augmenting Remote Monitoring and Virtual Care
Patients with COVID19 who do not require hospitalization can be monitored remotely at home using wearable devices that measure temperature, blood pressure, and arterial oxygen levels and communicate this information to central virtual care units. The AI-assisted analysis informs personnel of deteriorating conditions, prompting the activation of outreach care or the recall of a patient for treatment.
4. Predicting Risk of Deterioration and Poor Outcomes
Predictive algorithms that can identify patients who are likely to worsen and require respiratory assistance upon admission can help with screening and resource allocation choices. While being older, male, and having specific morbidities all indicate poorer results, these variables may not always predict outcomes at an individual level, particularly in younger people.
5. Cameras Equipped with AI
Security cameras equipped with AI-based software allow monitoring and detecting if citizens comply with restriction measures. AI is a powerful tool for halting the spread of infectious diseases and ensuring individuals follow the rules. As a result, governments utilize a variety of automated techniques, like AI-based security cameras, to keep the outbreak under control.
6. Test Kits Equipped with AI
Though the duration difference between innovative kits and PCR is insignificant, the test kits allow accelerating the progress in the war against COVID-19. Since AI is an integral part of them, it makes the process of the kits’ distribution easier and helps elaborate samples gathered by the kits faster. The aim of this AI is to detect whether you have the virus in your organism.
7. AI in Detecting COVID-19 X-Rays
Enthusiastic radiologists who are also interested in AI applications in healthcare devised a plan for implementing software in hospitals. Currently, the healthcare business is dealing with personnel shortages and overburdened patient loads. It is becoming increasingly difficult to visit a large number of people on a daily basis. AI in healthcare has the potential to make the jobs of radiologists easier. With the help of deep learning, AI has trained itself to recognize patterns and identify diseases in new x-rays. So, normally done by doctors, x-ray analysis can now be successfully managed by machines.
8. Development of Drugs and Vaccines
By evaluating the existing data on COVID-19, AI is employed for medication research. It is useful in the design and development of medication delivery systems. This technique is used to speed up drug testing in real-time, when traditional testing takes a long time and therefore helps to substantially accelerate this procedure, which a human may not be able to do.
To summarize, AI has the potential to be a useful weapon in the battle against COVID-19 and other pandemics. It should come as no surprise that the COVID-19 issue and the resulting mobility limitations have resulted in substantial changes and preferences, as well as an increase in the use of digital services.
