MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence (AI), BMC authorities said on Friday, has played a role in shaping the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic in Mumbai for the past seven months.
Fortunately for Mumbaikars, the city’s Covid curve has so far coincided with the severity of the “lowest level” projected by artificial intelligence, rather than the projections of medium level or worse.
BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, who gave a presentation on AI on Friday, said decisions to establish Covid care centers “even before core recommendations,” huge field hospitals and ward-level war rooms come from AI-powered analytics. Even the realization that the city needs more oxygen support beds than for the ICU came from such an analysis.
AI had also predicted the continued rise. “It was anticipated that the number of cases would increase with the opening of the city, but the important thing is that the situation is better managed now,” Bhide said. The in-depth analysis has helped the BMC anticipate deficiencies, whether in terms of ventilators, oxygen support beds, or ICU beds, and prepare ahead of time.
The officer said that several activities take place in the background that do not reach the public view, but that play a fundamental role in solving problems related to Covid. In the early days, patients feared they would not get a bed in time. “We now have more cases, but BMC has been handling the technology better,” Bhide said.
Decentralized or ward-level war rooms directing patients to beds were developed when AI analysis showed that the centralized system was clogging. War rooms are the first contact for patients and organize beds or home or institutional isolation.
Artificial intelligence systems provide three-week projections on the highest, medium, and lowest severity level. “We maintain our preparation according to the highest level projection, but over time we have realized that the requirements are according to the lowest level projection,” he said, adding: “So we always have additional preparation.” .
When there was initially a shortage of doctors, AI-based X-ray algorithms helped analyze Covid in patients. At a giant facility, a Wi-Fi-enabled tool attached to beds helped collect vital parameters from patients remotely.
Fortunately for Mumbaikars, the city’s Covid curve has so far coincided with the severity of the “lowest level” projected by artificial intelligence, rather than the projections of medium level or worse.
BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, who gave a presentation on AI on Friday, said decisions to establish Covid care centers “even before core recommendations,” huge field hospitals and ward-level war rooms come from AI-powered analytics. Even the realization that the city needs more oxygen support beds than for the ICU came from such an analysis.
AI had also predicted the continued rise. “It was anticipated that the number of cases would increase with the opening of the city, but the important thing is that the situation is better managed now,” Bhide said. The in-depth analysis has helped the BMC anticipate deficiencies, whether in terms of ventilators, oxygen support beds, or ICU beds, and prepare ahead of time.
The officer said that several activities take place in the background that do not reach the public view, but that play a fundamental role in solving problems related to Covid. In the early days, patients feared they would not get a bed in time. “We now have more cases, but BMC has been handling the technology better,” Bhide said.
Decentralized or ward-level war rooms directing patients to beds were developed when AI analysis showed that the centralized system was clogging. War rooms are the first contact for patients and organize beds or home or institutional isolation.
Artificial intelligence systems provide three-week projections on the highest, medium, and lowest severity level. “We maintain our preparation according to the highest level projection, but over time we have realized that the requirements are according to the lowest level projection,” he said, adding: “So we always have additional preparation.” .
When there was initially a shortage of doctors, AI-based X-ray algorithms helped analyze Covid in patients. At a giant facility, a Wi-Fi-enabled tool attached to beds helped collect vital parameters from patients remotely.
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