Artificial intelligence used to predict high-risk COVID-19 patients

An artificial intelligence tool is being developed which researchers hope could be used to predict which coronavirus patients will suffer life-threatening lung damage. The team behind the initial study reported 80% accuracy in its predictions of which patients would develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) - which can be fatal in severe COVID-19 cases. The aim of the research is to provide hospitals with a tool to help decide which patients cans safely be sent home and which will need beds and potentially breathing equipment allocated to them. The AI tool used data on 53 patients from two hospitals in China, who all tested positive for coronavirus in January. ARDS is a condition where the lungs, inflamed by serious infection such as pneumonia, cannot provide the body's vital organs with enough oxygen.