According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of the population in South Africa suffer from latent tuberculosis, only 45 positive positive patients in 2013. The death rate of tuberculosis has exceeded AIDS last year and became the most deadly infectious disease in the world. About 37.5% of patients with tuberculosis in the world have not been diagnosed, and there is no treatment plan for no response. It can be said that this is the detection link, or defects on the treatment link.
These patients will continue to infect new patients, resulting in a vicious circle that spreads in the population. It will help to promote the progress of the tuberculosis treatment method, which is also the reason why IBM supports the termination strategy of WHO tuberculosis. IBM provides data-driven Internet of Tho to WHO to diagnose, predict tuberculosis, and ultimately curb the spread of tuberculosis.
The biggest problem in tracking infectious diseases is that the disease monitoring information report management system is supervised by different health institutions. The results of the findings still need to manually input into the system, which inevitably abomains missing, input errors, etc. In addition, in South Africa countries, there is a brand of tuberculosis that is prejudice to social prejudice, so many tuberculosis patients are not willing to provide relevant information.
Researcher Toby Kurien is a small wireless pulmonary tuberculizer
R & D research and development by IBM Institute African Manufacturing Laboratory
In the Johannesburg laboratory in use not long ago, IBM researchers are trying to solve the problem encountered by the data driver, and want to design a more effective anti-control tuberculosis strategy. By using inexpensive radio labels, the research team plans to use dozens of radio labels in the specific area of Johannesburg to anonymously track the propagation path of tuberculosis.
Researchers work in the laboratory of Braamfontein headquarters in the Braamfontein headquarters, they have tried to commercialize the radio label and apply it to the hospital, clinic and other places, and finally applied to the community. Kurien is a very famous engineer in the local manufacturing industry and has also joined the tracker research and development process. DARLINGTON is a Ph. of Biological Information. It has been in the IBM African Institute at eight months. His joining the research on medical health is not much found in the brocade.
How to track tuberculosis more effectively
In general, the wireless RF tracker is limited, and can only work in a particular area, such as shopping malls. However, the transmission and reception distance of the wireless radio frequency tracker is limited. The monitor is difficult to judge who is within the monitoring range, who just entered the monitoring range. So in similar shopping malls or other special places, the effect of the wireless radio frequency tracker is a big discount.
However, Kurien and Shingirirai's radio labels solve the problem of tracker's transmission and reception.
Kurien said: "Our radio labels can communicate with each other, so when the two radio labels are interconnected, their interaction records will be recorded." For example, a label may enter with another ten There is a communication range with label patients, and there are two or two labels will communicate one by one (eight people on the bus, three people at home). If each patient carries this radio label, the communication between each two or two labels will be recorded one by one.
3D data visualization helps researchers and health organizations to determine "super liaison"
This can be designed to design a targeted immunization strategy
Data collected from the radio label will present on a three-dimensional dynamic monitoring display, scientists and researchers can use this data to analyze the distribution of diseases, and even track the path of disease. At the same time, because the cost of vaccination is too high, these data can also help medical personnel to determine patients with priority immunization.
Kurien said: "These labels are responsible for collecting data, and we use these collected data to determine the distribution of diseases. When we discover a disease, this means there is a belonging The label has entered the scope of this intensive manner, and we call such a person as 'super liaison' or a high concentrated person. These data show that if we choose a super liaison to vaccinate the treatment, this It means that we can break this intensive network and prevent further spread of the disease. "
SHINGIRIRAI said: "By using these labels, we can analyze the dissemination model in different people in different people. This information is not only a crucial role in preventing disease spread, but also analyzing the dissemination mechanism and is easy in different environments. In touch with you. This allows us to make more effective interventions, such as targeted immunization (isoniazid preventive treatment), enhanced tuberculosis patients detection method, infectious control and Other measures to prevent disease spread. "
In addition to the improper operation of investigating data, another reason that causes tuberculosis tracking difficulties is that traditional tools such as GPS sensors are not only high, but more importantly, patients are reluctant to carry. These trackers used as medical data collected are usually considered to be a violation of private privacy. There is also a more sensitive question in that wearing a tracker is not distinguished from others to be tuberculosis patients.
After understanding these issues, the technical team designed a third-generation tracker, which is the smallest version. Kurien tells us: "Every chip contains a small sensor, storage device and battery. We make the chip into a bracelet size, then equipped with a fashionable shell, so others can't see that the wearer is a tuberculosis patient." Shingirirai pointed out that in order to reduce the identity of the tracker, they can also do it into the form of (female patient) or wristband (male patient).
After the technical team has these design ideas, cooperate with local start-up technology company SIGNL to produce these trackers. They planned to perform the first test of this tracker in a controllable environment (such as a hospital) to meet the requirements. This tracker can also be used to track other types of infectious diseases.
"The more knowledge we have learned, the understanding of our things is deeper. When we begin to deepen things about things, the actions we take will naturally be more active. In this case, we are with tuberculosis It has produced a huge impact. "
In order to support WHO tuberculosis termination strategy, IBM's infectious disease tracker is not only an innovative invention, but also a practical tool. It not only contributed valuable data that enhance human health and safety, but also eliminates the disadvantages of existing trackers in the social level, and solves cost problems.
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