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A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THREE CRITICAL WAYS AI IS PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF COVID 19 AND FLATTENING THE CURVE.
As AI is being deployed furiously to accelerate the development of a vaccine, it is also being applied preventatively to attempt to flatten the curve and reduce rates of infection. Let’s take a look at three key methods in which AI is preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Large R&D investments in the field of AI have achieved breakthroughs in the past few years. However, although AI still cannot currently defeat the virus on its own, it still constitutes an important tool in the fight against Covid-19. Among computer engineering faculties, it is widely accepted that AI knowledge is on a steep growth curve and within a few years from now, AI will have increased capabilities that can be further expanded into Covid applications. Based on what we are seeing now, the potential for future evolving applications of AI will be critical and exciting tools in the medical field.
AI is capable of screening high volumes of people for Covid-19
While most countries are manually screening people for Covid-19 by questionnaires and by relying on honest responses, some counties are deploying AI in innovative ways to screen for infected people in high volumes. This is a crucial factor in fighting Covid -19.
In China for example, AI is single handedly replacing health officials to screen people on a much larger scale and to check for signs of fever, coughing and breathing difficulties. Beijing’s Qinghe Railway Station uses cameras equipped with computer vision and long-range infrared sensors.
These devices, powered by AI, can screen up to 200 people per minute in a crowd and can detect individual temperatures within an accuracy of 0.5 degrees Celsius. Covid-19 has brought the fictional film ‘Robocop’ to life. The ability to quickly test high volumes of people for Covid 19 is a revolutionary tool when the return to business operations gets the green light. A secondary spike in infection rates would be catastrophic to global economies and AI can play an important role in preventing this from occurring.
AI can Detect Lung Infection Covid -19 Characteristics
Using machine learning algorithms, another application involves training an AI algorithm to detect Covid-19 in chest CT scans with a 96-percent accuracy in just 20 seconds. Compare this to the current 15 minutes it takes a human expert to diagnose a patient. This enhanced speed is accomplished by training AI algorithms through exposure to big data containing high resolution images of chest CT scans with Covid-19.
By combining this AI application with high powered computers, AI can determine the characteristics of Covid-19 and can detect complex patterns with a high accuracy rate when in diagnosis mode. While health experts must look at each CT scan one at a time and use their training to search for similar patterns, the AI can process millions of images in mere seconds.
Over short periods of time, the AI algorithms can also tell the difference between Covid-19 and ordinary viral pneumonia, or any other abnormality if trained. The AI is effectively helping to screen patients in hundreds of hospitals, relieving strained medical institutions. And AI also serves to protect the front-line doctors and health workers, as AI is immune to the Covid Virus.
AI Navigates Robots to sanitize high risk contamination areas
Several governments are applying AI technology in air and land drones to reduce contact between infected patients and healthy people. Guided by AI algorithms and the data captured by camera systems, robots apply a highly effective surgical approach. AI calculates high probability paths to intercept high risk areas and deliver airborne or UV based sanitization.
This is a much more effective method than blindly blanketing areas which needlessly consumes high volumes of sanitizing chemicals, and raises environmental concerns. AI navigating robots are significantly more reliable than the current main weapon in use, which relies solely on people to sanitize and to apply social distancing.
To learn how Artificial Intelligence can be applied to Product Intelligence for business applications, or to manage R&D programs, please feel free to contact one of our representatives for a demonstration of your custom application. Visit SHAIN’S Product Intelligence
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