New AI May Be Able to Detect Asymptomatic COVID-19 Cases From Coughing Sounds
Tests have proved the technology to be 98.5 percent successful.
As the coronavirus pandemic persists globally, organizations are continuing to develop ways to help prevent the spread of the disease. A new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm built by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been able to correctly detect those with COVID-19 just from the sound of their coughs.
So far, pool testing for the new technology has yielded promising results with a 98.5 percent success rate. MIT scientist Brian Subirana shared in a recently published paper: “The way you produce sound changes when you have COVID-19, even if you’re asymptomatic.” The report further states that “practical use cases could be for daily screening of students, workers and public, as schools, jobs and transport reopen, or for pool testing to quickly alert of outbreaks in groups.”
The newly-developed AI is still in its early stages, and would need to be translated into a user-friendly app for the general public to use. You can head over to the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society website to read the full report.
