Artificial Intelligence (AI) Sector is Leveraging Their Technology to Detect Outbreaks, Enable Effective Contact Tracing and Identify Existing Drugs to Treat COVID-19

Artificial intelligence is being used in new ways in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several companies like BlueDot, IBM and BenevolentAI are leveraging their technologies to detect outbreaks, enable effective contact tracing and identify existing drugs that could be useful for treating COVID-19. Researchers are also exploring the use of artificial intelligence as an aid to diagnosis. A team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine have developed an AI model that uses CT scans combined with clinical data such as abnormal white blood cell counts to detect cases of COVID-19.

While researchers from the NYU College of Dentistry have developed a new mobile app which helps to identify COVID-19 patients most likely to be severely affected by the disease. Researchers built a model based on biomarkers from 160 patients in Wuhan to allow the app to identify patterns of COVID-19 and predict its severity. This allows hospitals to prioritize resources like ICU beds and ventilators as well as to determine who can be safely cared for at home.