We have all learned a lot more about airborne viruses since the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In basic terms, airborne viruses can become suspended in the air after infected people do things like cough and sneeze. The viruses can then be inhaled by unaware people, which results in more infections.
There are numerous types of airborne viruses besides Covid-19, including SARS, influenza, measles, mumps, and viral meningitis.
Technologies have played a big role in tackling Covid-19, and as tech becomes more sophisticated, we can expect to see other emerging technological solutions for fighting airborne virus pandemics.
Here are just four futuristic technologies that could transform the way we handle pandemics over the coming years.
1. GUV Lighting
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen how important proper ventilation and air purification technologies are. But guv lighting takes things to another level.
With germicidal ultraviolet light fixtures, microbes in the upper environment of an area become inactive. In turn, that helps to prevent the spread of infection.
GUV fittings reduce the concentration of infectious particles in a certain area by using GUV radiation to penetrate the cell wall and disrupt the DNA in bacteria. GUV lighting has been proven to deactivate viruses and bacteria not only in the air but also on surfaces.
The new technology is sure to take off even more over the coming years to help combat infections and pandemics.
2. Thermal Screening
New technologies like devices that measure infrared body temperature and wireless thermometers are able to check people’s body temperatures from a distance. That is very handy when a pandemic is going on.
Thermal screening can identify people who need to be tested for infection, so the tech really is invaluable for controlling pandemics.
Presently, thermal screening devices are used at places like airports, railways stations, shopping malls, hotels, and offices. But they could be more widely used in the next few years.
Furthermore, facial recognition is starting to be used in conjunction with thermal screening tools to speed up the automated thermal monitoring process.
3. Robots, Drones, and Driverless Cars
Thermal screening is a form of contactless health monitoring, but other technological contactless services have been on the rise since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Robots, drones, and driverless vehicles are still in their infancy, but they are already being used to do things like delivering essential items. Thus, there is less need for people to come into contact during a pandemic. In turn, that means viruses cannot spread as easily.
Robots can be used for things like sanitising local areas and delivering groceries, drones can deliver medication and other essentials in contamination zones, and driverless cars can be used to transfer people to hospitals in a safe way.
4. Artificial Intelligence and Big Data for Predictive Modelling
Behind the scenes, artificial intelligence and big data for predictive modelling have become important tools for the healthcare industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the tech becomes more sophisticated, it will be able to help fight future pandemics even more effectively.
The data generated by AI-based predictive models help medical professionals and government officials to make difficult decisions about things like the effectiveness of lockdowns.
AI and big data predictive modelling is becoming more accurate all of the time, which means there will be more precise forecasts for data about the spread of infection and effective treatment in the future.
And AI-based risk assessment tools can provide more clarity for detecting the type of infection someone has.
One example of how artificial intelligence technology has helped during the Covid-19 pandemic is the health monitoring AI platform Bluedot, which is based in Toronto. It has been extremely helpful in detecting the spread of Covid-19. In fact, it accurately detected the route of the virus, from Wuhan to Tokyo.
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