Facebook develops A.I. to predict likelihood of worsening Covid symptoms

Artificial intelligence researchers at Facebook claim they have developed software that can predict the likelihood of a Covid patient deteriorating or needing oxygen based on their chest X-rays. Facebook, which worked with academics at NYU Langone Health's predictive analytics unit and department of radiology on the research, says that the software could help doctors avoid sending at-risk patients home too early, while also helping hospitals plan for oxygen demand. The 10 researchers involved in the study -- five from Facebook AI Research and five from the NYU School of Medicine -- said they have developed three machine-learning "models" in total, that are all slightly different. One tries to predict patient deterioration based on a single chest X-ray, another does the same with a sequence of X-rays, and a third uses a single X-ray to predict how much supplemental oxygen (if any) a patient might need. "Our model using sequential chest X-rays can predict up to four days (96 hours) in advance if a patient may need more intensive care solutions, generally outperforming predictions by human experts," the authors said in a blog post published Friday.