How Artificial Intelligence Is Intensifying the Fight Against COVID-19

BlueDot, a Toronto-based company that monitors the spread of infectious diseases using artificial intelligence, alerted its customers to a cluster of rare cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Nine days later, in Wuhan, China, about December 30, 2019, the World Health Organization announced the discovery of a novel coronavirus, later called COVID-19. Today, COVID-19 is a pandemic that has spread to 180 nations, claimed over 83,000 lives and caused a near-global lockdown.

Since it is known that the novel coronavirus undergoes mutation phases, it is important that the treatment developed must be capable of catering to the different types of the virus. Some major medical companies are therefore exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to classify possible medicines or vaccines for the treatment of novel coronaviruses. AI can also be used across the globe to build new COVID-19 diagnostic and management systems. Through a series of relevant previous and current studies related to COVID-19 and other relevant outbreaks, AI and machine learning made it easier to screen. Machine learning is also actively used to scale up consumer contact (through rob-chat options) and also to help coordinate and collect relevant COVID-19 data.  

In the past decade, the pace of growth in Artificial Intelligence has been exponential. As we practice social distancing and work-from-home choices, the pandemic has rendered us more dependent on technology. Artificial intelligence and machine learning provide solutions for using knowledge from different fields and making educated decisions. The use of AI to help us combat COVID-19 is one such use. In order to classify high-risk patients at an earlier level, Artificial Intelligence is actively used and thus helps to monitor the spread of the infection in real-time. At this time of crisis, this is especially important because tracking in real-time is the best choice for individuals to separate themselves and mitigate the spread of the virus.

According to a report by Fatpos Global, Artificial Intelligence is also used to research the transmission rate of COVID-19 in designing mathematical models. The number of positive cases and the transmission rate for the COVID-19 pandemic can potentially be estimated by these models. By monitoring the number of reported cases and taking appropriate measures to curb the outbreak, Artificial Intelligence can quickly classify the most susceptible regions. Through computer analysis, AI will allow vaccines and drugs to be detected at a faster pace, which can be helpful for clinical trials.

For Instance, IDENTIF.AI is an AI platform that is used to pinpoint Remdesivir i combination with Ritonavir and Lopinavir as a regimen against SAR-COV-2. However, this theory is still not peer reviewed but offers optimism of the technology for future success in controlling COVID-19. In the United States, a surveillance company announced that its AI-enhanced thermal cameras can detect fevers, while in Thailand, border officers at airports are already piloting a biometric screening system using fever-detecting cameras.