Researchers Create AI-Powered Device to Predict Pandemics

A team of US researchers has invented a portable surveillance device powered by machine learning called'FluSense' that can detect coughing and crowd size in real time, analyse the data to directly monitor flu-like illnesses and influenza trends and predict the next pandemic in the making. The'FluSense' creators from University of Massachusetts Amherst said that the new edge-computing platform, envisioned for use in hospitals, healthcare waiting rooms and larger public spaces, may expand the arsenal of health surveillance tools used to forecast seasonal flu and other viral respiratory outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or SARS. "This may allow us to predict flu trends in a much more accurate manner," said study co-author Tauhidur Rahman, assistant professor of computer and information sciences. Models like these can be lifesavers by directly informing the public health response during a flu epidemic. These data sources can help determine the timing for flu vaccine campaigns, potential travel restrictions, the allocation of medical supplies and more.