The rise of AI applications has been a significant success story in the field of technology in the past decade. As India is still battling the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers, scientists, IT companies, and entrepreneurs have stepped up to find out new ways in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
From understanding the structure and preventing the spread of the coronavirus to detection and diagnosis of COVID-19 in patients, large organizations and start-ups in India are doing their best to develop AI-based solutions to fight the ongoing pandemic in India.
According to a report by PwC, there has been a 45 % rise in the adoption of artificial intelligence amidst the pandemic. This percentage rise has been the highest among other countries around the world.
The ‘Global AI Adoption Index 2021’ of IBM has shown that the need for AI has been increasing rapidly due to the changing business requirements because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A new market research performed by IBM revealed that nearly one-third of IT organizations across the globe have embraced artificial intelligence.
AI-based solutions to tackle COVID-19
Here are the various AI applications and information on how AI-based solutions are being used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
Detection and diagnosis of COVID-19
·        The RT-PCR test is widely used in India for the
diagnosis of COVID-19.
·        However, this test is quite stretched and is
used by all diagnostic centers in India. Sometimes, RT-PCR can fail to detect
the new mutant variants as well.
·        There is added pressure on the health management
system as more people are opting for CT scans and chest X-rays for diagnosis.
·        The facilities for Computerized tomography (CT)
are quite expensive and not available everywhere in India, especially in remote
areas.
·        Defence Research and Development Organization
has developed Atman AI, a COVID-19 detection AI application.
·        Atman AI has the potential to detect COVID-19
infection and the severity from radiological images of the lungs within a few
seconds.
·        Atman AI is based on machine learning and can
classify chest X-rays as normal, COVID-19 positive, and pneumonia.
·        It has shown an accuracy of nearly 97 percent in
detecting COVID-19 from the X-ray scans of RT-PCR positive patients.
·        A Mumbai-based start-up ‘Qure.ai’ has developed
Qxr, a chest X-ray screening tool that functions on deep learning algorithms.
This automated tool can identify abnormal findings in the chest X-ray in under
a minute.
·        COVIRAP is a fast and low-cost method of
COVID-19 detection developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Kharagpur. It consists of a pre-programmable automated temperature control
unit, a detection unit based on genomic analysis, and a tailor-made smartphone
app for the results.
Managing law and order
·        In order to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Telangana police are making use of a technological application powered by AI.
·        This AI software is linked to the CCTV cameras
that are located across the state.
·        This AI-based system enables the Telangana
police to identify and catch hold of people who are violating the law by not
wearing a mask on the road.
·        Using this AI-powered surveillance tool, data
extraction of the violators is possible by the Telangana police. All the data
stored in the system is secure and in encrypted form.
·        The Telangana police are also making use of
drone technology developed by the tech company named Cyient to manage and
monitor situations, especially in congested areas.
·        Glimpse Analytics, a Pune-based start-up is
making use of its AI analytics device to alert retailers and shops to identify
people not wearing masks and not following social distancing norms.
Health management
·        Yellow Messenger Cares was launched by Yellow
Messenger, a conversational AI platform.
·        The main purpose behind launching Yellow
Messenger Cares was to develop COVID-19 related cross-channel help chatbots for
hospitals, NGOs, medical and healthcare support groups, and businesses to boost
their health management efforts.
Information
·        MyGov ‘Saathi’ is an AI-powered chatbot that
helps to provide precise and latest information related to COVID-19 to the
users.
·        Saathi was an outcome of a partnership between
Accenture and Microsoft with the Government of India’s Digital India
Corporation.
·        It is capable of handling 300,000 users each
day.
·    Similar to Saathi, a WhatsApp-based chatbot
named ‘Introbot’ provides users with a verified database about the availability
of beds in hospitals, oxygen cylinders, plasma, and other medical supplies.
Drug repurposing
·        Drug development and discovery is quite
exhausting and an expensive process.
·        AI-based solutions are being used to repurpose
drugs and find out a cure for COVID-19.
·        With the increased use of AI-based solutions in
India, it is clear that AI can not only be used for epidemic management at a
state level, but also for managing a pandemic like COVID-19.
·        An Indo-German company ‘Innoplexus’ has been
testing the potential and capabilities of Hydroxychloroquine (drug used for
malaria treatment) and Remdesivir (drug used for Ebola treatment) against the
Coronavirus.
·        In 2020, the Indraprastha Institute of
Information Technology in Delhi developed a drug repurposing AI model. This
model helps in choosing the drug that has been effective on viruses having genomic
structure similar to that of the Coronavirus.
AI applications have shown tremendous success in early diagnosis, contact tracing, tracking, preventing the spreading of inaccurate information, and providing useful information on the development of vaccines and drugs against the Coronavirus. AI is a powerful resource that has not just aided India’s fight against the Coronavirus but always enhanced the functioning of the healthcare industry.
Source: indiaai.gov.in
