Mumbai biotechnologists devlop AI based voice test for Covid 19 diagnosis

A team of researchers from DY Patil Institute of Bio Technology and Bio Informatics, Mumbai have developed an artificial intelligence-based tool to test COVID-19 through voice-based diagnosis using a smartphone.

According to the researchers this voice-based diagnosis would fetch zero cost testing to the patient and there will be no wait time. The COVID-19 positive patients can be diagnosed in minutes with this method and medical advice can be sought through a video or audio call to the listed doctors.

University in Rome is conducting a pilot run for a patented artificial-intelligence based tool developed by three biotechnology students and a professor from Mumbai, which they claim can test COVID-19 through voice-based diagnosis using a smartphone.

The tool is being tested by University of Tor Vergata in Rome and has already been tested on 300 individuals, and has yielded 98 per cent accurate results.

According to the professor who supervised the project, Santosh Bothe, "This Indian AI-based voice tool is fully functional and currently in use in Italy to identify COVID-19 patients. The students have a full-fledged working software with a rich database of patients and healthy samples. This tool is being currently used by the University of Rome to detect COVID-19 patients with 98% accuracy."

He explained further — to detect infected people, one has to speak to the microphone on the app, while the tool breaks down the voice in multiple parameters such as frequency and noise distortion. These values are then compared to an average person's values, and the patented technique then determines if the patient is positive or not.

In a similar effort, a team at the IISc, Bangalore, is also working on a diagnostic tool based on analysis of cough and respiratory sounds.

According to Giovanni Saggio, professor at the Rome university's Engineering department, the AI-based voice tool can find coronavirus from the timbre of the voice.

A team at the IISc, Bangalore, is also working on developing a diagnostic tool based on analysis of cough and respiratory sounds taking a cue from it.