Research Projects
Recently, the global outbreak of infectious diseases such as H1N1 influenza (swine flu) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) underlined the pressing need for the development of a rapid and highly reliable screening system to prevent the spread of pandemic diseases.
A number of countries have applied thermography at international airports in order to detect infected passengers. However, using thermography alone can be insufficient as a screening system in practical settings, since infected passangers may take antypyretics. In addition, there are many variables such as alcohol and ambient temperature that can affect the accuracy of screening.
In order to conduct more accurate and fast mass screening, we have developed a non-contact screening system that can perform human medical inspections within ten seconds. This screening system monitors not only temperature but also heart and respiratory rates. By using three parameters, the detection accuracy of the system improved dramatically.
For instance, in our case control study, the discriminant function of this proposed system is found to be effective in distinguishing influenza patients regardless of their temperatures. The results showed PPV rate of 93%, which is notably higher compared to the conventional screening method using only thermography.
We will conduct further study to improve the system for future practical application.
