‘Smart Guard for COVID-19’ will prevent patients from playing truant

Many people hide symptoms and when some test positive, they flout guidelines. Now a new device has been developed that can keep track of every step a patient takes.

By: Jahnavi Sarma | | Updated: June 13, 2020 9:24 am

Applying this device in front of the patient's home, who is under quarantine, will also inform the authorities about the patient's activities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the entire health infrastructure of India under tremendous pressure. After easing of lockdown restrictions, positive cases have surged alarmingly and the numbers are increasing by the day. People’s careless attitudes may be to blame to a great extent for this rapid surge in cases. As the deadly contagion holds the entire country in its grip, it has become necessary to think of innovative ways to contain the spread of infection. Besides restrictions in people’s movement and activities, other things also need to be taken into account. Many people hide symptoms and when some test positive, they flout guidelines. This is dangerous as it leads to further spread of the disease. Also Read - COVID-19: New silicone alternative to N95 face mask that can be sterilized and reused

We have seen that since the beginning of the viral outbreak, many applications have been developed to keep track of the pandemic. Taking this further, students at the Ashoka Institute in Varanasi have now invented a device that not only tracks COVID-19 positive patients but also sends an alarm to officers and police personnel as soon as they enter hotspots. Also Read - Brain damage epidemic may be a possibility because of COVID-19 complication, say experts

New device to ensure patients comply with isolation guidelines

Through this device, called ‘Smart Guard for COVID-19’, patients with the coronavirus infection who are admitted in a hospital or in a quarantine centre, can be monitored. Designed by Dhananjay Pandey, Nikhil Kesari and Mohammad Saif under the direction of Shyam Chaurasia of the Research and Development Department of the institute, this device can be sued to monitor the homes of positive patients. This is useful because many infected patients in the area sometimes carelessly try to get out of their house. In such a situation, there may be a risk of virus spread. But this device is capable of monitoring their movements instantly. Not only this, the police personnel posted in the hotspot area will also be sent information about the quarantined patient. Also Read - Lysol disinfectants can kill the coronavirus in 2 minutes: Here is how to keep your surfaces germ-free

It can help in containing spread of disease

Applying this device in front of the patient’s home, who is under quarantine, will also inform the authorities about the patient’s activities. If someone comes out of the house, the sensor installed in the device will be activated and the policeman posted in the hotspot area will immediately be informed about the location of the patient. This will be done by sending calls and messages. This will enable the police to take action on time. It can be installed at the hospital or home gate and the sensor range is from 5 metres to 10 metres.

This device uses cameras, motion sensors, mobiles, GPS systems, batteries, calculators, 5 volt relays. It has a PIR sensor relay of 5 volt, battery of 9 volt, a keypad mobile and a CCTV camera. The developers have attached a keypad mobile phone to this device with a motion counting sensor camera. This device can be mounted like a camera above the doors of the quarantined patients’ homes in the hotspot area.