ABSTRACT
This article presents an inexpensive artificial intelligence solution aimed at increasing indoor safety of COVID-19, including a number of important aspects: (1) breakdown of the process (2) Method for mask identification (3). Assessment methodology of social distancing The Arduino Uno sensor system uses an infrasound sensor or heat camera, whereas the Raspberry Pi is equipped with computer vision technologies for mask detection and social distance checks. Indoor measures are the most prevalent—people with a high body heat should stay at home, masks should be worn, and their distance should be at least 1.5–2 m. In the first case, the Arduino Uno temperature sensor board is utilized, while we utilize a single-board Pi Raspberry computer coupled with camera for two additional situations, using computer vision techniques. Due to their compact size and cost, we chose to utilize these devices. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has been announced as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” and further identified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Considering the unprecedented spread of the disease across the world, the development of noncontact and unobtrusive methods for quick screening of potential carriers is the need of the hour. The chapter describes a multimodal approach for rapid screening of potential COVID-19 carriers based on symptomatic sensing using a combination of sensors, followed by generation of a metric to indicate the severity of symptoms. The proposed system is likely to be a significant addition to the present body of systems to scan COVID-19 carriers. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Since the early detection of COVID-19 infection in December 2019, the number of infected persons has been increasing day by day. In this present scenario, people worldwide are reorganizing their life taking safety precautions like doing frequent sanitization, wearing face masks, and avoiding social gathering to protect themselves from getting infected as the proven vaccine or lifesaving drugs are yet to be discovered. However, deficiency of face mask and their reusability have become a key issue because the used masks need to be discarded after some time. In this background, we propose the design of a self-powered (no external power source) face mask which does not require to be sterilized. The proposed mask is comprised of two differently charged tribo-series materials with outer electrocution layer. Different combinations of tribo-series (+ and −) materials have been chosen based on their triboelectric properties to generate static electricity. Nanofibers have been considered for their ability to generate a sufficient amount of triboelectricity. Multilayer of electrospun nanofiber-based tribo-materials such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-nylon and PVDF-poly(ethyl methacrylate) has been used due to the effective air filtration property of nanofibers and generating tribo electricity. In addition, the generated charge via utilization of contact electrification and electrostatic induction is amplified using a suitable energy harvesting circuit. The design of an outer electrocution layer has been made keeping a few nm distances in between the tribo-layers and the electrocution layer to avoid short-circuiting. Metallic nonwoven fabric has been taken in practice to design the outer electrocution layer. In this practice, the harvesting of triboelectric energy has been done using a suitable charging circuit which can generate sufficient voltage (few volts) to trigger the outer electrocution layer. During the wearer’s inhalation and exhalation, the inner tribo-layers produce triboelectric charges due to mechanical agitation between the layers. Additionally, acoustic or air vibration during talking and different facial expressions of the volunteer will also take part in the generation of effective triboelectric power. The viruses get electrocuted once the droplets containing viruses come in contact to the mask’s outer layer. In addition, the fitting comfort and the breathing permeability of the proposed mask are also ensured. In this chapter, we shall explain the face mask’s design and present the analysis results of different physiological inputs for the efficacy of the mask for killing the deadly virus. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
A century after the great Spanish flu wiped millions of people off the face of earth, the world is at loggerheads with yet another pandemic: the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the COVID-19 infection. It is a single-stranded RNA virus in the coronavirus family (Coronaviridae) named from morphology. The SARS-CoV-2 infects human respiratory epithelial cells a thousand times more than the previous coronavirus strains and does so by interacting with human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors. The transmission modes include contact droplets from infected individuals, airborne transmission or indirect contacts on infected surfaces. The best way of prevention is hand and respiratory hygiene practice. As such, the transmission may be wholly or partially arrested by the universal adoption of personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE include N95 respirator masks or surgical masks, eye protectors or face shields, alcohol-based sanitizers, protective gowns, surgical caps and rubber boots. All the medical devices intended for specific PPE types must meet the standards of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). The WHO has exceedingly recommended the use of face masks by the general populace living in the affected areas. Model simulations in the United States using COVID-19 relevant data have shown that even simple cloth masks can impede the spread of this virus and thus prevent community transmission. Various studies have attested to the fact that the use of face masks in conjunction with other practices like hand hygiene and social distancing can cause considerable benefits to the whole community. While wearing a proper elastomeric respirator, selecting the proper eye gear with the correct positioning of protection is also required along with face shields. Mass masking is only beneficial when the majority of the population-akin wears masks to herd immunity after vaccination. Amidst the spread of this pandemic, there has been increasing emphasis by medical specialists on the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and soaps for keeping the hands germ-free. Gloves as protective equipment are advised to be worn mostly by medical personnel for invasive procedures. They need to be changed after each episode of treatment or between caring for two different patients. Sustainability of PPE is also a budding trend. At present, PPE manufacturing resources are derived from polyester, polyamide, polyethylene and other polymers. In the near future, biopolymers like natural fibres for disposable PPE manufacture may overrule the market. In essence, masking and gloving can be considered to keep the harm at source, whereas sanitizing falls under mitigative strategies aimed at killing the virus. It may also be remembered that gloves are not substitutes for hand sanitizing, and sanitizers are still encouraged before and after wearing gloves. Patient care measures need to be optimized irrespective of conventional, contingency and crisis circumstances. These measures include personal protective equipment (PPE), administrative and engineering controls to be implemented in general spread of infection and regulation strategies in healthcare management. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.