IT COVID-19 News
U.K. Public Attitudes to Tracking and Immunity Passports
2021 24 Jan
The overwhelming majority of people in the UK support the use of co-location tracking technologies and introduction of immunity passports by the authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19, a new study shows (Lewandowsky et al. 2021) . You might also like: (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)? COVID-19 ‘Immunity Passports’... Read more
New Initiative Seeks to Standardise COVID-19 Vaccination Records
2021 15 Jan
Leaders from healthcare and tech industry, including Mayo Clinic, Microsoft and Oracle, are joining forces in the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI) to establish a standard for digital vaccination records. You might also like: COVID-19 Vaccines: Need for Global Tracking System The new initiative aims to provide every... Read more
Machine Learning and COVID-19 Management
2021 14 Jan
A new systematic review (Syeda et al. 2021) analyses artificial intelligence (AI) -based methods utilised to tackle the pandemic and provides insights into different COVID-19 themes. You might also like: AI Tool Helps to Reduce COVID-19 Mortality Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare organisations have... Read more
Four Steps to Make COVID-19 Vaccinations Efficient
2021 04 Jan
The United States, where COVID-19 cases continue to rise, is racing to vaccinate as many people as possible to curb further spread of the virus. The inoculation drive, however, poses a major IT challenge as the country's data infrastructure lacks the capacity to efficiently track COVID-19 vaccine distribution and its use (who got vaccinated,... Read more
Online Calculator for COVID-19 Mortality Risk
2020 14 Dec
A new addition to the COVID-19 Risk Tools suite by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an online mortality calculator , assesses the risk of dying from COVID-19 in currently uninfected individuals. It has been presented in an article published in Nature Medicine (Jin et al. 2020) and is available online for interested public... Read more
COVID-19 Vaccines: Need for Global Tracking System
2020 12 Dec
As the world's first COVID-19 mass vaccination programmes are underway in the UK, the U.S. and some other countries, a new paper (Vander Stichele et al. 2020) highlights the need for global monitoring of vaccine use (who was inoculated with which vaccine product, where and when) as well as its safety and effectiveness. You might... Read more
Digitally Listening to Sound of Lungs
2020 10 Dec
Two different devices aimed at improving the quality of a uscultation, the action of listening to sounds from the body, lungs in particular, have been recently presented to the medical community. One is a lung sound recording system (LSRS) from TU Graz and the other is a digital stethoscope from John Hopkins’ James West. ... Read more
Virtual Hospital for COVID-19 Care
2020 23 Nov
The COVID-19 pandemic puts much strain on healthcare resources. One way to expand hospital bed capacity is through the use of telemedicine. Atrium Health's "hospital at home" (AH-HaH) is a good example of how telemedicine programmes can be ramped up to provide acute hospital-level care for patients in their own home. You might also like:... Read more
Wireless Data Collection Against COVID-19
2020 05 Nov
A joined initiative in Singapore is developing an open-sourced system that wirelessly collects oxygen levels data from pulse oximeters and presents it on a dashboard, aiming to boost COVID-19 fight. You might also like: Wearables Data for COVID-19 Detection Availability of well-structured, easy-to-read health... Read more
Wearables Data for COVID-19 Detection
2020 04 Nov
A combination of symptom and sensor data from wearable devices could enhance detection of COVID-19 positive and negative cases in symptomatic individuals, a new study shows (Quer et al. 2020). You might also like: AI Tool Helps to Reduce COVID-19 Mortality Study authors, affiliated with the Scripps Research Translational... Read more
COVID-19 Prognosis Prediction with CoVA
2020 29 Oct
A new risk prediction tool – COVID-19 Acuity Score (CoVA) – can help clinicians with screening outpatients to predict adverse outcomes related to COVID-19 infection, says a new study (Sun et al. 2020). You might also like: AI Tool Helps to Reduce COVID-19 Mortality "While several COVID-19 risk prediction models have been proposed... Read more
Cross-Border Management of COVID-19 Lab Results
2020 27 Oct
Two digital initiatives are being tested aimed at facilitating cross-border handling of COVID-19-realted lab results for travellers and governments. You might also like: (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)? COVID-19 ‘Immunity Passports’ through ethical lens International travel and tourism are among... Read more
Crowdsourcing COVID-19 Research
2020 15 Oct
An app, easily usable by anyone, allows users to explore molecules that might bind to key proteins on the SARS-CoV-2 and may help in the search for COVID-19 treatments. You might also like: New Platform for COVID-19 Research The app, ViDok, has been created by Thanh Truong, University of Utah professor of chemistry, together with... Read more
Technology Can Make Endoscopy Safer
2020 14 Oct
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy globally, yet more than half of cases are diagnosed late because of excess demand for colonoscopy, the current gold standard for screening. However, a combination of new technologies, such as robotics and computer vision, can help in improving the situation, a new study shows. ... Read more
Virtual vs. In-Person Care During Pandemic
2020 08 Oct
There has been a notable increase in telemedicine use amidst pandemic-induced quarantine measures and travel curbs, which are meant to reduce workplace transmission. In the US, for instance, telemedicine accounted for 35.3% of all primary care visits during the second quarter (Q2) of 2020, a big leap from 1.1% of total Q2 2018-2019 visits, says... Read more
Applying ML to Study India’s COVID-19 Policies
2020 24 Sep
The nudge theory is known to be useful in effecting behaviour change. Using the nudge of ‘nationalism’ in the fight against COVID 19, the government of India was able to motivate its large population to abide by lockdown rules and basic health protocols (e.g. wearing of face masks and frequent handwashing). You might also like: AI Tool... Read more
Digital health and care: learning from Covid-19
2020 02 Nov
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Open Database for NPIs
2020 11 Sep
Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), ranging from the most stringent lockdowns to less restrictive social distancing rules, have been implemented by different countries to control coronavirus spread and prevent COVID-19 cases overwhelming their healthcare systems. You might also like: COVID-19 Exit Strategy Simulator Available... Read more
4CE: Extracting COVID-19 Data from EHRs
2020 08 Sep
As the respiratory disease COVID-19 is caused by a new pathogen, SARS-CoV-2, there is so much uncertainty that makes the battle against the pandemic even more challenging. Experts continue with their research work to have a better understanding on COVID-19's underlying physiology and its interactions with the body's different system processes.... Read more
Telemedicine for Type 1 Diabetes During COVID-19
2020 05 Sep
The current pandemic has led to increased use of telemedicine, allowing delivery of care with no person-to-person contact, in line with physical distancing measures to prevent further spread of coronavirus. You might also like: Bright Ideas A new survey study (Scott et al. 2020) zeroed in on telemedicine use among people living... Read more