India is undergoing a deadly second wave of the coronavirus. Since the first case was recorded in the country in early 2020, the disease has claimed over 3 lakh lives, third highest after USA and Brazil. What has sustained us, however, is the indomitable spirit of the people of this great nation. Right from the doctors to the front line workers to the grieving public, we have refused to give in to the devastation caused by the virus. Another community that deserves a special mention here is the AI community of India which, with its sheer ingenuity, has been working behind the scenes to help us hold the fort till the wave ebbs. And when the will to help the country is backed with a technological force as powerful as AI, what we get are winning solutions that have the potential of saving countless lives. When it comes to the fight against Covid-19, there are three fronts that need to be strengthened: detection, prediction, prevention. Detecting the existing infection, predicting future trends, and preventing further spread are key to minimising the damage, and Indian AI community has built indigenous solutions for all three mitigation strategies.

• Detection: To combat COVID fatalities involving the lungs, the DRDO Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), with the support of 5C Network & HCG Academics has developed “ATMAN AI”, an AI algorithm that can detect the presence of COVID-19 disease in Chest X Rays. Triaging COVID suspect patients using X Ray is fast, cost effective and efficient. It can be a very useful tool especially in smaller towns in our country owing to lack of easy access to CT scans. This will also reduce the existing burden on radiologists and make CT machines which are being used for COVID be used for other diseases and illness owing to overload for CT scans. Read more...
• Prediction: AI researchers at India's universities are on a mission mode to devise novel algorithms that can foretell the damage that the virus is likely to cause, so that corrective action can be taken in advance. Two IISc professors have built a partial differential equation model that aims to predict the trajectory of COVID19 across Indian states. The model uses hindsight analysis to provide mathematical insights on projected infection numbers. Further, researchers from IIIT Hyderabad have developed an ML model for risk and mortality prediction of COVID-19 patients, which has helped to predict mortality with 96% accuracy. This is greatly helpful for identifying patients on high-risk, so that focused treatment can be provided using the overwhelmed medical infrastructure.
• Prevention: The arrival of the vaccine seems to be the only light at the end of the dark Covid-19 tunnel. But the vaccine unavailability and scarcity are major causes of concern for anxious citizens. Indian techies, therefore, are stepping up their efforts to assist in vaccine availability notification. With APIs on the CoWin site made open for public use, several tech companies and independent coders have developed sites or apps that can provide users an email notification when a vaccine is made available at a centre near you. Some of these sites are GetJab.in, FindSlot.in, Under45.in and VaccinateMe.in. Facebook's Vaccine Finder Tool, which has been in use in other countries, has rolled out a version for India after partnering with the Indian government. Read more...

Image by leo2014 from Pixabay