CSAIL device lets doctors monitor COVID-19 patients from a distance

Even with the best protocols in place, treating COVID-19 patients is inherently dangerous for health professionals. But what if there was a way to monitor patients from a safe distance? This week a clinical team in Boston has reported being able to monitor a COVID-19 patient remotely, thanks to a device developed at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) that can monitor a patient's breathing, movement and sleep patterns using wireless signals. The CSAIL team's device, which they call "Emerald," has been used in multiple hospitals and assistive-care facilities, including with a COVID-19 patient at Heritage Assisted Living in the Boston suburb of Framingham. Developed by MIT professor Dina Katabi and her research group at CSAIL, Emerald is a WiFi-like box that analyzes the wireless signals in the environment using artificial intelligence to infer people's vital signs, sleep, and movement.