The Silver lining of COVID-19 tech-innovations

Trisha Banerjee

Recent developments in technology have enabled scientists and researchers around the world to overcome geographical boundaries in order to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology is playing a remarkable role in healthcare to deal with the threat that COVID-19 imposes upon humanity. Evolving technology such as Artificial Intelligence, 3D Printing, Contact-tracing and Robotics are playing a key part in the prevention of the spread of this infectious virus.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) uses machine learning to mimic human intelligence. AI is being employed to diagnose COVID-19 rapidly using CT scans. AI systems that are currently being used in Iran take a mere 20 seconds to diagnose a patient using their CT scan results, whereas it would take a human 15 minutes for this diagnosis. In addition, Google’s DeepMind technology has used AI systems to analyse the structure of proteins associated with COVID-19. Understanding the 3D shape of the viral proteins can provide a blueprint of the virus to aid the development of a vaccine against this respiratory disease. This technology can also identify patterns of how the virus is evolving and mutating which is useful for defining measures that could stop its spread.

Likewise, 3D printing communities around the world have collaborated in response to the global shortage of PPE for healthcare workers. 3D printing is a manufacturing process using digital models to make 3D solid objects. This technology is being implemented to produce face-shields and ventilators. The Leitat Technology Centre in Spain has designed a 3D model for an emergency-use ventilator that can be produced using 3D printers. Many companies such as HP, Rolls-Royce and CatSalut have united to manufacture ventilators to support the shortage in many hospitals and Intensive Care Units. Moreover, the iForge team at the University of Sheffield have produced face shields using 3D printed frames which will help to protect our frontline NHS workers.

Robotics is being used effectively in healthcare, particularly in China, to deliver food and medicines to those infected with COVID-19, hence limiting human interaction. Robots can also use UV light to kill the virus when present on surfaces in hospitals, reducing the spread of the virus. In Hong Kong, the mass transit railway employed robots to disinfect trains with sterilising agents such as vaporised hydrogen peroxide. This is crucial to inhibit the breeding ground of the virus, as such forms of public transport carry millions of passengers each day in close proximity.

Companies such as Google and Apple have teamed up to help track and trace the spread of COVID-19 using Bluetooth contact tracing apps on smartphones. Using Bluetooth signals, the app can alert people who have been in close contact with positive cases in the last 28 days. However, there are limitations to the use of these technologies. For example, digital inequality exists among the elderly and lower socio-economic populations that are not in a position to access the contact tracing app, as well as mounting privacy concerns with location tracking. 

Moreover, AI needs to undergo extensive clinical validations before healthcare providers feel comfortable relying on it. With regards to 3D printing, the sterilisation of these products is difficult to assess as they are coming from various suppliers and there is not currently a  quality benchmark to ensure the safety of these products to be used by healthcare workers. In addition, the high expense of Robotics would make it difficult for the machines to be mass produced for widespread use amongst hospitals. There are also concerns regarding liability issues, as alongside all of the advantages of Robotics, there is still the potential for malfunctions. Hence, it is evident that innovation is driven by an overwhelming need to overcome real-life constraints.

Although these limitations exist, each of these technologies has the potential towards controlling this pandemic. It is currently the most appropriate time to bring together the epidemiological research, scientific theories, medical practices and technological innovations to overcome the threat of COVID-19. 
 
References:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-deepminds-effort-on-covid-19-coronavirus-rests-on-the-shoulders-of-giants/ 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52201696
https://www.gigabitmagazine.com/video/covid-19-how-tech-helping-0
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-52072479/a-3d-printed-ventilator-designed-for-spain-s-coronavirus-patients

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