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The coronavirus outbreak has spread global panic, with people searching for sure-fire ways to protect themselves. Medtech startups, healthcare organizations and others bring applications and online services to the market to help people track the virus, check for symptoms, and offer advice on ways to help prevent exposure or even offer testing methods that limit exposure risk.
Here’s an overview of just a few of the latest resources out there:
The Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University has developed an interactive, web-based dashboard that tracks real-time data on confirmed coronavirus cases, deaths, and recoveries for all affected countries.
App Idea #1: The web-based dashboard monitors multiple data sources to track new cases of coronavirus, including various Twitter feeds, online news services, and direct communication. Before updating the dashboard, researchers confirm with organizations like the CDC, the China CDC (CCDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and city and state-level public health authorities.
App Idea #2: DocClocker app enables patients to receive real-time reporting of their medical providers, in theory, helping to prevent the spread of the virus by allowing the patients to avoid long lines in medical waiting rooms, in this way limiting exposure risks.
App Idea #3: The Medici Healthcare Mobile App provides its patients with the option to connect with medical professionals and doctors on the Medici network for a set period. The main aim here is to eliminate the additional cost of going into a hospital by providing online consultancy to the users and minimizing physical contact during the pandemic.
App Idea #4: Orion Health’s outbreak monitoring platform offers the ability to remotely monitor and engage patients in their homes, facilitating communication between quarantined people and the healthcare service, as well as maintaining visibility of those recently discharged. The platform will use artificial intelligence over time to allow providers to identify patients at risk of deterioration and optimize their care.
App Idea #5: To Wash Your Hands app – One way to ensure you follow these guidelines is by proactively getting into the habit of frequently washing your hands throughout the day. The new app is a simple reminder service. The user can instruct the app on how often they would like to be reminded to wash their hands, and the app will do it.
App Idea #6: Washyourlyrics are built to generate handwashing infographics to your favorite songs and ensure you wash your hands long enough. The CDC has said that washing your hands for at least 20 seconds is one of the best ways to prevent the coronavirus.
App Idea #7: “Don’t touch your face” is a hard recommendation for some people to follow even though we have been told it is one of the best ways to avoid coronavirus infection. A new service may help by shouting at you if you touch your face. Donottouchyourface uses a simple machine-learning algorithm to recognize each user’s images touching their face and not touching their face. Once it’s been trained, it can be left in an open tab or a minimized window and uses web notifications to ping you if you touch your face – or, if you leave the window visible, to put a sizeable red NO on-screen.
App Idea #8: In these challenging times, it is crucial to have relevant information to make quick and correct decisions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considered one of the most useful apps in the United States. The mobile application is specially designed for the country, which is engaged in controlling the country’s incidence. Thanks to it, you will receive the latest information and advice on better taking care of yourself and your loved ones during a pandemic.
Up-to-date information is updated once a day at noon. When edited, you will have access to the latest information on confirmed cases in each state in the United States. The CDC will tell you what you can do to protect yourself and what you can do to treat your symptoms.
App Idea #9: The first weeks of quarantine showed that the situation substantially impacted people’s mental health. To stay alert and positive, therapists recommend using the Daylio app, where, on the advice of doctors, you can keep a personal diary and track your daily mood and activities. After all, it has already been proven that positive thinking helps maintain physical health at the proper level.
In the application, you can add notes to individual posts and add emoji and all sorts of creatives. Users can also classify their notes in terms of mood using colors. With such a tool, it is easier to work productively, set goals, make a list of new activities that I would like to try.
App Idea #10: AI detects COVID-19. As we already know, COVID-19 can pass without apparent symptoms for some people, while it can pose a severe danger for others. But how can a person understand that he was sick without specific symptoms? Scientists from the University of Massachusetts have found that the disease can be identified by a cough’s sound, which can help identify the disease in its early stages.
Based on multiple cough samples, artificial intelligence models have been created to detect conditions such as pneumonia, asthma, and even neuromuscular diseases, all of which affect how a person coughs differently. And as a result, having collected cough samples from patients with COVID-19, scientists using AI were able to distinguish subtle patterns in the strength of the voice, mood, lung function, and breathing. Muscle degradation identified 100% of cough in asymptomatic carriers of COVID- 19 and 98.5% of symptomatic coughs with the specificity of 83% and 94%, respectively. In other words, the computer system can distinguish people who have COVID from those who do not have a 98.5% probability.
App Idea #11: FluSense is a self-contained system that monitors public spaces and counts people who cough. This collection of information is confidential, and the data is passed on to health authorities. This idea’s development was prompted because most of the data come from hospitals when it is too late to take preventive measures. And most importantly, there are ill people and do not seek help since there is no money for treatment. Therefore, this system is never relevant.
FluSense consists of a thermal imager, a microphone, and a compact computing system that runs a machine learning model trained to detect people and cough sounds. FluSense can expand the arsenal of health surveillance tools used to predict seasonal outbreaks of influenza and other respiratory viral outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic or SARS.
App Idea #12: The next great idea is the TravelSafe API that provides up-to-date information on what and where tourists’ restrictions are currently in force and the risks associated with COVID-19. Any travel service can integrate this product on a subscription basis. When making a reservation, customers receive the information they need and what hotel rooms or tickets are currently available. This solution takes data from official sources that service providers usually use.
So using this API, you can assess the level of risk of this trip to a specific country at a certain point by analyzing the reproductive status of the epidemic in real-time. It will make it easier to manage travel risks.
The pandemic has slowed down some business areas, but for some over, it has become another round in evolution. Perhaps after our shortlist of what can be created to help people in such a difficult time and solutions that can support business and make customers’ lives safer.
But for the success of a brilliant idea is not enough. It is essential to draw up a detailed action plan to create your future digital solution. When a project is scheduled in stages, the chances of success increase dramatically. Underestimating the early stages before actual development can lead to reduced workload, budget overruns, and deadlines.
To protect the project from failure, it is essential to conduct a discovery phase and then plan. In most cases, we strongly advise clients not to abandon this stage. Why? Let’s take a look below.
What is the discovery phase?
The discovery or scoping phase is the process of gathering and analyzing information about a project, its intended market, and the audience. It allows you to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of goals, scope, and limitations.
At this stage, we determine the end-users and what needs the application can solve, and what requirements will be for it. Based on this, the requirements specification is built. This document contains the information required for the development.
In the discovery stage, the team members and head managers (Business Analysts, Marketing Managers, Designers, and other specialists depending on your particular project needs) are collecting the information regarding your project. The results of this phase are critical to time and budget constraints.
Upon completion of this stage, you will receive:
- Requirements specification. It fully describes the project, its goals, features, proposed technology stack, and architecture overview.
- Preliminary UX prototype. Long before the developers start working on your project, you will have a simple understanding of the digital interface and its most essential functions. Combined with the SRS, it gives a clear idea of how the project will work.
- MVP development plan and evaluation. You will receive the proposed team composition, an accurate estimate of the development time and budget.
Research and detailed analysis help to clearly define the project’s purpose and choose the right direction in development. This approach helps mitigate potential risks during development. Want to know more about the discovery phase, and why is it so important? Then open the article soon Why is the discovery phase a must for every project?
FAQ
COVID-19 has changed the world and people’s minds. Self-isolation or keeping distance is recommended for all to prevent the spread of the virus. In this case, most users try to get information about disease symptoms, medical services, etc. through the Internet using mobile or web applications like mentioned above.
Based on the preceding, I would like to cite a few more statistics on how the market for health or telemedicine applications will develop further. According to the forecast, the total market in the United States is predicted to reach 90 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, of which around 44 billion dollars are expected to be generated by the mHealth submarket.
Digital health market size in the United States from 2014 to 2024, by technology (in billion U.S. dollars).
According to the statistics, 63% of mobile users have a healthcare app on their phone. The forecast says that the number of healthcare app users will grow. If you have an idea that can be useful or even save people’s lives, it’s time to bring it to life. To promote your company as interested in helping people stay healthy, they become more well-versed about coronavirus and ways to protect themselves from it.