scholarly journals WiFiTrace

Author(s):  
Amee Trivedi ◽  
Camellia Zakaria ◽  
Rajesh Balan ◽  
Ann Becker ◽  
George Corey ◽  
...  

Contact tracing is a well-established and effective approach for the containment of the spread of infectious diseases. While Bluetooth-based contact tracing method using phones has become popular recently, these approaches suffer from the need for a critical mass adoption to be effective. In this paper, we present WiFiTrace, a network-centric approach for contact tracing that relies on passive WiFi sensing with no client-side involvement. Our approach exploits WiFi network logs gathered by enterprise networks for performance and security monitoring, and utilizes them for reconstructing device trajectories for contact tracing. Our approach is specifically designed to enhance the efficacy of traditional methods, rather than to supplant them with new technology. We designed an efficient graph algorithm to scale our approach to large networks with tens of thousands of users. The graph-based approach outperforms an indexed PostgresSQL in memory by at least 4.5X without any index update overheads or blocking. We have implemented a full prototype of our system and deployed it on two large university campuses. We validated our approach and demonstrate its efficacy using case studies and detailed experiments using real-world WiFi datasets.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciara Greene ◽  
Gillian Murphy

Previous research has argued that fake news may have grave consequences for health behaviour, but surprisingly, no empirical data have been provided to support this assumption. This issue takes on new urgency in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. In this large preregistered study (N = 3746) we investigated the effect of exposure to fabricated news stories about COVID-19 on related behavioural intentions. We observed small but measurable effects on some related behavioural intentions but not others – for example, participants who read a story about problems with a forthcoming contact-tracing app reported reduced willingness to download the app. We found no effects of providing a general warning about the dangers of online misinformation on response to the fake stories, regardless of the framing of the warning in positive or negative terms. We conclude with a call for more empirical research on the real-world consequences of fake news.



2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Fan

UNSTRUCTURED Smartphone-based contact tracing is proven to be effective in epidemic containment. To maintain its utilization meanwhile ensure the protection of personal privacy, different countries came up with different practices, new exploratory solutions may come into real-world practice soon as well.



BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e045886
Author(s):  
Yiying Hu ◽  
Jianying Guo ◽  
Guanqiao Li ◽  
Xi Lu ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThis study quantified how the efficiency of testing and contact tracing impacts the spread of COVID-19. The average time interval between infection and quarantine, whether asymptomatic cases are tested or not, and initial delays to beginning a testing and tracing programme were investigated.SettingWe developed a novel individual-level network model, called CoTECT (Testing Efficiency and Contact Tracing model for COVID-19), using key parameters from recent studies to quantify the impacts of testing and tracing efficiency. The model distinguishes infection from confirmation by integrating a ‘T’ compartment, which represents infections confirmed by testing and quarantine. The compartments of presymptomatic (E), asymptomatic (I), symptomatic (Is), and death with (F) or without (f) test confirmation were also included in the model. Three scenarios were evaluated in a closed population of 3000 individuals to mimic community-level dynamics. Real-world data from four Nordic countries were also analysed.Primary and secondary outcome measuresSimulation result: total/peak daily infections and confirmed cases, total deaths (confirmed/unconfirmed by testing), fatalities and the case fatality rate. Real-world analysis: confirmed cases and deaths per million people.Results(1) Shortening the duration between Is and T from 12 to 4 days reduces infections by 85.2% and deaths by 88.8%. (2) Testing and tracing regardless of symptoms reduce infections by 35.7% and deaths by 46.2% compared with testing only symptomatic cases. (3) Reducing the delay to implementing a testing and tracing programme from 50 to 10 days reduces infections by 35.2% and deaths by 44.6%. These results were robust to sensitivity analysis. An analysis of real-world data showed that tests per case early in the pandemic are critical for reducing confirmed cases and the fatality rate.ConclusionsReducing testing delays will help to contain outbreaks. These results provide policymakers with quantitative evidence of efficiency as a critical value in developing testing and contact tracing strategies.



2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-22
Author(s):  
Katarina Steen Carlsson ◽  
Bengt Jönsson

What is the actual value of new medicines? The answer to this question is the key to rational use of new technologies in health care and for design of appropriate incentives for innovation. In this paper we present methods, data and study results for valuing new medical technologies in a life cycle perspective, relevant for development of a new approach to contract and payment for innovation that can replace present systems for pricing and reimbursement.   Focus is on value in clinical practice, and on the data needs and methods needed for the development of outcome-based payment systems that balances risks and rewards for innovation in health care. We provide an overview of studies from the Swedish context on the value of new medicines introduced in the treatment of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis. These studies using national health data and quality registers emphasise the importance of continuing efforts to collect relevant data for assessment of value after a medicine reaches the market and starts to be used in clinical practice. It is only when medicines are used in clinical practice that the benefits for real-world patient populations can be identified, measured and valued. Analyses of real-world data will also assist further development and tailoring of treatment strategies to optimize the value of the new technology. While an effective patent system rewards innovation for a limited period of time, many innovations may continue to provide value to society long after patent protection, and these values must be included in the assessment of value of innovation.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Nabeel ◽  
Salman AlSabah ◽  
Eliana Al Haddad ◽  
Hutan Ashrafian

BACKGROUND The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered public anxiety around the world. So far, the evidence suggests that prevention on a public scale is the most effective health measure for thwarting the progress of COVID-19. Another critical aspect of preventing COVID-19 is contact tracing. OBJECTIVE We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of contact tracing applications currently available in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS We undertook a systematic review and narrative synthesis of all literature relating to contact tracing applications in the context of COVID-19. We searched 3 major scientific databases. Only articles that were published in English and were available as full-text articles were selected for review. Data were extracted and narrative syntheses conducted. RESULTS Five studies relating to COVID-19 were included in the review. Our results suggest that digitalized contact tracing methods can be beneficial for impeding the progress of COVID-19. Three key themes were generated from this systematic review. First, the critical mass of application adoption must be attained at the population level before the sensitivity and positive predictive value of the solution can be increased. Second, usability factors such as access, ease of use and the elimination of barriers are essential in driving this uptake. Third, privacy must be ensured where possible as it is the single most significant barrier against achieving critical mass. CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 2 million lives globally, with over 100 million confirmed cases. Contact tracing can rapidly identify potentially infected individuals before the emergence of severe or critical symptoms, and it can also prevent the subsequent transmission of disease from secondary cases when implemented efficiently. Contact tracing methods have proved to be beneficial for impeding the progress of COVID-19 as compared to older, more labor intensive manual methods.



Author(s):  
Prabha Selvaraj ◽  
Sumathi Doraikannan ◽  
Anantha Raman Rathinam ◽  
Balachandrudu K. E.

Today technology evolves in two different directions. The first one is to create a new technology for our requirement and solve the problem, and the second one is to do it with the existing technology. This chapter will discuss in detail augmented reality and its use in the real world and also its application domains like medicine, education, health, gaming, tourism, film and entertainment, architecture, and development. Many think that AR is only for smartphones, but there are different ways to enhance the insight of the world. Augmented realities can be presented on an extensive range of displays, monitors, screens, handheld devices, or glasses. This chapter will provide the information about the key components of AR devices. This chapter gives a view on different types of AR and also projects how the technology can be adapted for multiple purposes based on the required type of view.



Author(s):  
Neminath Hubballi ◽  
Deepanshu Goyal

Increasingly system software and user applications are becoming automated and thus many of inter machine communications are not user action driven. Some of these automated communications like OS updates, database synchronization will not pose security threats, while others can have malicious behavior. Automated communications pose a threat to the security of systems if initiated by unwanted programs like keyloggers and Botnets. As these applications are programmed to contact a peer host regularly, most of these communications are periodic in nature. In this chapter we describe a method for detecting periodic communications by analyzing network flows for security monitoring. In particular we use a clustering technique to identify periodic communications between hosts. We experiment with both simulated and real world data to evaluate the efficacy of method.



2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (S1) ◽  
pp. 11-11
Author(s):  
Maria Vutcovici Nicolae ◽  
Lucy Boothroyd ◽  
Leila Azzi ◽  
Laurie Lambert ◽  
Michèle de Guise

IntroductionStroke is a major contributor to mortality, disability and long-term use of healthcare services. As for all chrono-dependant conditions, clinical results are associated with timely access to appropriate care. Thrombectomy (EVT) is an effective treatment for large vessel occlusions, but can only be provided in highly-specialized centers by experienced personnel. We sought to develop a framework to aid decision-making on the appropriateness of opening new EVT centers in Québec, Canada.MethodsData sources included provincial administrative healthcare databases, population density statistics, field evaluation of Québec's four existing EVT care networks, and literature review concerning structural and performance criteria for EVT centers. We consulted EVT clinical teams, interdisciplinary stroke experts, patients, professional association representatives, healthcare managers and decision-makers.ResultsAccess to EVT is suboptimal in all 17 regions of Québec, with virtually no access in remote areas. Results of key performance indicators indicated favorable treatment delays after arrival at the EVT center. However, door-to-needle and door-in-door-out times were long for patients transferred from non-EVT centers. High use of ambulances indicated the potential to transport patients to the most appropriate center. In light of ‘real world’ results and other sources of information, the need for a new EVT center should consider the following criteria: sub-optimal EVT access within the region; transport time to an existing EVT center >1 hour; expected patient volume within 2 hours of transport; impact on volume of existing programs; availability of long-term financial support; availability of a critical mass of neurointerventionists, vascular neurologists, and neurosurgeons; demonstrated quality of stroke care; and, presence of a stroke unit.ConclusionsThe triangulation of literature, clinician experience and the Québec context enriched the evaluation process. Furthermore, this facilitated the development of a framework that was broadly applicable across regions to the real-world setting of decision-making in a complex system of care.



Author(s):  
Kathryn C. Ibata-Arens

Singapore’s developmental model had to be based within its multiethnic Chinese, Indian, and Malay population and from its very inception was global in outlook. Its meritocratic Economic Development Board (EDB) and Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) tied inward FDI to domestic human-capital development and redistribution of internationally derived wealth to its domestic population. Its “guppies to whales” human-capital development programs contributed to productivity gains through attracting the region’s best and brightest STEM youth and offering them citizenship. While the Singaporean city-state’s small population has proven an impediment to establishing a critical mass of new technology entrepreneurs, open immigration policies have the potential to fast-track future developments. However, indigenous Singaporeans have been displaced in this process.





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