Scientists Apply ML Method to Help Diagnose Deadly Respiratory Illness

Machine Learning for Healthcare analysis ...'

 Scientists Apply ML Method to Help Diagnose Deadly Respiratory Illness

UC San Diego Today, Emerson Dameron, December 13, 2022

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the Indian Institute of Technology, and the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) have developed a novel machine learning algorithm to help diagnose pneumonia from chest x-rays. The model features a two-way confirmation system that could complement clinicians and minimize human and computer error. Former IIIT researcher Abhibha Gupta said the three-level optimization model builds on earlier neural architecture search-based frameworks to find the best architecture from a set of candidates for detecting pneumonia. Gupta said this involves implementing the Learning By Teaching framework, which "consists of a teacher and student model that train together in an end-to-end manner to improve their learning abilities."  ... ' 

Make the Mask a Way to Detect Disease

Had seen something similar presented,  sanitizing more complex masks was mentioned as an issue.  ,

Smart Mask Could Be Early Warning System   By South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), September 22, 2022

A team of Chinese scientists have developed a wearable bioelectric mask that can detect respiratory diseases in the air, including Covid-19 and influenza, and report results in 10 minutes.

Once connected to a wireless network, the mask can transmit real-time data to a user's mobile device, including detection alerts, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Matter on Monday.

The mask is intended to be used as an early warning system to prevent future outbreaks of respiratory infectious diseases, researchers said.

These diseases are spread through the air by droplets or aerosols. But direct detection of viruses in the air can be difficult as the concentrations can be extremely low.

From South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

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Colds Have Nearly Vanished?

Fascinating piece. 

Colds Nearly Vanished Under Lockdown. Now They’re Coming Back  in Wired.
The return of non-Covid respiratory illnesses is putting a new strain on testing supplies around the world—and is a preview of what’s in store for the US.

THE QUESTION MAY seem odd in the midst of a global pandemic, but among people in places with serious mask-wearing and social-distancing measures, and with the luxury to hunker down, it is forgivable to wonder: Will I ever get sick again? In the southern hemisphere, in places like Australia and South Africa, winter flu season came and went without a trace. The western United States is coughing through clouds of smoke, and people everywhere have endured wet-eyed allergy seasons. But over the past 6 months, people were far less likely to get sick sick—at least from respiratory viruses that aren’t called SARS-CoV-2.... "