8 Technologies That Are Being Used During COVID-19 Crisis

Monday, April 20, 2020, 18:31

The rapid spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced the countries to take necessary steps, which include the use of technologies to tackle the spread of the virus. Technology is proving to be an important method in combating the novel coronavirus.

In China and Singapore, robots are being used to disinfect hospitals and to deliver medical supplies and meals to patients. Asian countries have used a range of technologies to counter the spread of the coronavirus. Read on to know the technologies being deployed in different countries.

1. Location tracking

Location tracker is the most commonly used technology to track people's whereabouts through the location information provided by their phones. It identifies where an infected person went before being quarantined and how many people came in close contact with the patient [1].

2. Smart imaging

To detect a rise in rapid temperature in the body, AI-powered thermal cameras are being used to detect people in the crowd who have a fever. It also assists doctors with efficient and accurate diagnoses to help control the pandemic.

3. Robots

Robots are being used to prepare meals at hospitals, conducting diagnosis and thermal imaging and spraying disinfectants to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

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4. Drones

Drones have become a popular tool to disseminate information and manage large scale crowds. In areas that are severely affected, drones were being operated to transport medical equipment and patient samples, thereby saving time and increasing the speed of deliveries.

In India, the police are operating drones for surveillance to make sure that people are staying at home.

5. Health apps

Many countries such as India and China have launched health apps that help alert users if they have come in contact with a positive COVID-19 patient and what measures they need to take in case that happens.

6. Artificial intelligence

With many people getting affected and getting admitted in hospitals, healthcare professionals are struggling to triage patients. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in; they have been trained via machine learning to offer clinical decision support that may play a vital role in the COVID-19 crisis. AI has also learned about the illness patterns of COID-19 patients by extracting data from thousands of patient records.

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7. Big data

Several organizations are developing dashboards using Big Data to monitor the virus. Big Data takes data from sources around the world that helps healthcare professionals, scientists, epidemiologists and policymakers to collect and synthesise incident data on a global level.

8. Facial recognition

Facial recognition technology is being used in many cities to detect, diagnose, isolate and control a positive COVID-19 patient to limit the spread of the virus. This technology will lower the risk of cross-infection and will accurately recognise people even if they wear a mask.

To Conclude...

Although such advanced technologies have come to the rescue of millions of people including governments and enterprises during the COVID-19 crisis, much has been talked about privacy, because all the information is being gathered in the hands of the governments.