Research

Study Details First Artificial Intelligence Tool to Help Labs Rule-out COVID-19

Hospital-based laboratories and doctors at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic might soon add artificial intelligence to their testing toolkit. A recent study conducted with collaborators from the University of Vermont and Cedars-Sinai describes the performance of Biocogniv's new AI-COVID™ software. The team found high accuracy in predicting the probability of COVID-19 infection using routine blood tests, which can help hospitals reduce the number of patients referred for scarce PCR testing.

Free Online Tool Helps Determine Whether a Patient will Need a Ventilator or ICU Care

University of California, Irvine health sciences researchers have created a machine-learning model to predict the probability that a COVID-19 patient will need a ventilator or ICU care. The tool is free and available online for any healthcare organization to use.

"The goal is to give an earlier alert to clinicians to identify patients who may be vulnerable at the onset," said Daniel S. Chow, an assistant professor in residence in radiological sciences and first author of the study, published in PLOS ONE.

Development of High-Speed nanoPCR Technology for Point-of-Care Diagnosis of COVID-19

A "nanoPCR" technology was developed for the point-of-care (POC) diagnosis of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). This new technology can diagnose the infection within ~20 minutes while retaining the accuracy of conventional reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology.

Researchers Adapt Cell Phone Camera for SARS-CoV-2 Detection

Researchers have developed an assay that can detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in a nasal swab using a device attached to an ordinary smartphone, they report in the journal Cell. Although more research is needed before such a test can be rolled out, the results are promising and ultimately may be applicable to screening more broadly for other viruses.

New Lab-on-a-Chip Infection Test could Provide Cheaper, Faster Portable Diagnostics

The chip, developed at Imperial College London and known as TriSilix, is a 'micro laboratory' which performs a miniature version of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on the spot. PCR is the gold-standard test for detecting viruses and bacteria in biological samples such as bodily fluids, faeces, or environmental samples.

Big Data Powers Design of ‘Smart’ Cell Therapies for Cancer

Finding medicines that can kill cancer cells while leaving normal tissue unscathed is a Holy Grail of oncology research. In two new papers, scientists at UC San Francisco and Princeton University present complementary strategies to crack this problem with "smart" cell therapies - living medicines that remain inert unless triggered by combinations of proteins that only ever appear together in cancer cells.

Computer Vision App Allows Easier Monitoring of Diabetes

A computer vision technology developed by University of Cambridge engineers has now been developed into a free mobile phone app for regular monitoring of glucose levels in people with diabetes.

The app uses computer vision techniques to read and record the glucose levels, time and date displayed on a typical glucose test via the camera on a mobile phone.

More eHealth News ...