ABSTRACT
One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the adaptation of most of the activities remotely or virtually, in the case of medical appointments, in the different specialties other than emergencies produced by COVID-19. Most of them continued in the format through online appointments. One of the important processes in medical evaluations is related to the so-called specialist boards, where special cases are evaluated, for which several physicians must be connected online, in addition to being able to make reports jointly. In this paper we develop a methodology to perform medical meetings of specialists, using a platform dedicated to the use in video games, through the DISCORD tool interconnectivity from various devices is performed, the results demonstrate the interactivity and applicability of the methodology, so it can be applied in different processes where interconnectivity between different devices and the concurrence of several users is required. We present a methodology to configure virtual appointment rooms, the results allow us to verify that the methodology can be replicated and scaled according to the needs. © 2022 ACM.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using low-cost solutions to monitor and mitigate PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in nursery and primary schools in Porto (Portugal). Three periods were considered: i) early 2020 (before COVID-19 pandemic), ii) early 2021 (during COVID-19 pandemic, with mitigation measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 spread);and iii) in the middle of 2021 (additionally using a low-cost portable air cleaner). PM2.5 and PM10 were continuously monitored with a low-cost sensing device for at least two consecutive days in five classrooms. In general, the lowest PM concentrations were observed in the third period. Concentrations reduced up to 63% from the second to the third period. The application of low-cost solutions for monitoring and mitigating PM levels seems to be an effective tool for managing indoor air in schools. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the suspension of outpatient services in various hospitals and healthcare facilities, including tertiary hospitals. This has elicited interest in development of novel, low-cost solutions with a quick turnaround time for tele-consultation that patients can use to consult with doctors using mobile devices. This paper presents the design, development and implementation perspectives for such a tele-consultation system developed for tertiary care hospitals in India. The comprehensive application includes workflows for patients, doctors and healthcare workers on both web and mobile devices. Patients or healthcare workers can raise tele-consultation requests that can be approved by doctors. Consultation through video-calling and Electronic Health Record (EHR) compliant clinical prescriptions can be generated from the solution using clinician's speech. It has been deployed at various tertiary hospitals in India on a pilot basis and the deployment outcomes indicate positive acceptance and adoption of the solution. The paper also focuses on emerging technologies that can be integrated with such solutions, including blockchain based Electronic Health Records (EHR) management and cloud-based deployments that leverage advances in communication networks such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and low-latency provisions in 5G for improving Quality of Service (QoS) and user experience. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic arises in the year 2020 that leads to almost more than 100,000,000 confirmed cases happened in worldwide and yet, the cases are continuing to rise now. One of the common methods that used to prevent the COVID-19 is through keeping the social distancing between each other. However, people do not aware of the importance of applying social distancing rules. A low-cost solution is urgently needed for contact tracing and remind the users to keep the social distancing with the others. An IoT-based safety distance monitoring (ISDM) device is proposed to monitor safety distance, remind people to always stay alert and keep the data of the users that violated the social distancing rules for contact tracing. ISDM is a lightweight wearable wristwatch. Bluetooth Low Energy technique is used to send and receive information such as body temperature and contact tracing information. Fever is the most common symptom of COVID-19 patients. ISDM can operate either online or offline. The health and contact tracing information are stored in a local Micro-SD card storage when offline and data will be uploaded to the cloud server for further analysis once ISDM is connected. The detailed contact tracing information can be used to trace the potential COVID-19 patients with close contact with the COVID-19 patient. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.