The COVID-19
pandemic became one of the most serious health crises faced by countries in
recent memory. Countries battled to contain the virus and protect their
citizens from its harm. AI (Artificial Intelligence) proved during this time,
an enormous benefit to many, supporting health workers, scientists, public
officials, and businesses. AI helped provide the necessary data for real time
decision making, improved treatment options, and fostered the potential
development of vaccines. In this article, we will investigate the many
different uses of AI during the pandemic.
Early Detection and Warning
An early and
crucial application of AI is in detecting an outbreak early. A Canada-based AI
company, BlueDot, issued alerts about a possible outbreak of an unusual disease
in China days before it was reported by official sources. This indicates how AI
systems can rapidly incorporate news reports, flight data, and online posts on
numerous platforms to identify a potential health threat. Such early warning is
critical in order to prepare for necessary responses and (more importantly)
save lives.
Diagnosis and Treatment
AI was
useful to physicians and hospitals in diagnosing COVID-19. Some AI tools
trained on chest X-rays and CT scans were able to determine if there were
indications of COVID-19 in the lungs. This helped with early infection
identification. AI also helped with managing hospital resources by calculating
patients that needed critical care and which patients were able to recover at
home. This decreased the strain on the hospital environment and allowed a
greater degree of concentration for the physicians on their most serious cases.
AI was
helpful in recommending treatment plans by comparing the thousands of litigious
patient records. AI assisted in determining what medicines appeared to be doing
a better job and which were of some hindrance. AI also helped assist clinical
trials by aiding in researcher selecting proper research participants needed
testing new treatments.
Vaccine and Drug Development
In general,
it usually takes many years to create vaccines, but scientists were able to
create them much faster with the help of AI. AI models were able to study the
structure of the virus and help peg virus parts that could be included in
vaccines, thus saving time. AI also assisted with designing drugs to combat the
virus by studying how different chemicals react with a particular virus
structure, again this helped in narrowing down what could possibly become
effective medicines.
Contact Tracing and Controlling Spread
AI driven
applications were employed in a variety of countries as an aid to contact
tracing. The applications recorded individuals who came into contact with
infected individuals. When a person tested positive, the app would alert other
persons who were close to that individual. Such applications helped to limit
the spread of the virus, and hence limit the rate of new cases. In addition, AI
helped to track patterns of infection across populations in specific areas, to
help inform governments about when to smartly lock down.
Information and Misinformation Control
There was a
lot of information shared by people across social media platforms during the
pandemic, unfortunately, much of this information was not true. AI tools helped
to gather false information and circulate appropriate facts shared from health
authorities. Knowing the correct, and available information helped decrease
some panic and raising awareness of correct concepts and facts. AI chatbots
were inquired and search for adverse effects of COVID-19, symptoms,
vaccinations and more. This helped with providing quick access to information
to fill the gaps for health workers, and provide a certain level of support,
gathering, and directing people in the right direction.
Support in Healthcare Management
AI helped to
get a handle on the large amounts of data that came out of the pandemic.
Hospitals, governments, and research facilities amassed great quantities of
information on cases, deaths, recoveries, and lots more. The AI systems sorted
out this quantitiy of information and produced valuable reports or predictions
to help health officials to make better decision. AI could give a report on
where the infection is likely to spread next, predict how many hospital beds
would be needed, and indicate which locations needed increased testing.
Conclusion
The COVID-19
pandemic demonstrated the different ways AI can be used to manage a health
crisis. AI improved things from early
warning to vaccine development to public awareness. This is a very strong
indication that AI can have a significant impact on saving lives by helping
healthcare organizations work smart and efficient. AI is not the answer to
everything but can be an effective tool that was implemented for the fight
against this pandemic. In the future, AI has the capability to do even more if
improved even further in addressing global health issues.
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