Amit Gupta, CEO and founder, Rapyder Cloud Solutions reviews how during the COVID-19 pandemic, cloud technologies have become the very foundation of some of the key transitions and innovations in the healthcare sector
Little was it expected in December 2019 that the corona virus outbreak would impact human lives, industrial sectors and global economy so severely! Furthermore, the strain on global healthcare due to COVID-19 is enormous and shocking with rapid deaths and the fear of mass infection hanging in the air.
On the other hand, the outbreak also has opened many new opportunities for healthtech startups to drive innovation by leveraging cloud computing and develop solutions to treat patients and manage the ongoing situation in the best possible way.
It is very apparent, many healthtech companies are now looking into telemedicine and tele-health more seriously than ever before. Those patients who are in isolation for the fear of spreading infection are benefited immensely with cloud based technologies combined with AI. Virtual assistants and virtual rehabilitation are gaining more recognition among other remote patient engagement approaches. Solutions such as, chatbots, AR and voice interfaces are no doubt, bringing the much needed healthcare experiences for patients and caregivers. Furthermore, for better effectiveness of the solution, scheduling is done online with patient triage automated. Healthtech companies are now focusing to leverage cloud, which can adapt to newer business models that are adopted to address COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The obvious reason is, the cloud platform has the dual advantage of being both scalable and secure and along with AI, the results are very impressive.
A significant number of healthtech startups have started to gain more attention in the recent past for launching solutions to address the challenges posed due to the deadly virus. Bengaluru based Alkenist has used AI solutions to detect lung anomaly of corona virus patients, where the cloud software analysis the chest X-ray and CT-scan images thereby helping healthcare professionals to decide on the next course of treatment. Moreover, the time taken to obtain the results is fast too, which is very critical.
There are other new organisations in the healthtech space too that are leveraging the power of cloud computing for developing solutions to fight the corona virus pandemic. Innovacer, a US based company has brought out a COVID-19 management system by leveraging AWS serverless cloud computing technology for rapid scaling up of the solution. The company is supporting in community based triaging of patients in a timely manner with automated assessments of the infection.
Additionally, the remote patient monitoring and treatment offered by the solution keeps healthcare workers’ safety in mind and provides better user experience at much reduced costs. Patient data privacy and security are also maintained in the process with cloud.
Mumbai based Qure.ai’s AI powered solution built on AWS identifies various number of abnormalities in the chest X-ray which also includes the indication of COVID-19-19 infection. This is very helpful and valued more as there has been a shortage of COVID-19-19 test kits across the globe. Moreover, this startup also supports in triaging asymptomatic patients in need of medical attention. Cloud technology used provides the scalability and can be deployed across continents effortlessly.
Trufactor, another healthtech company is focusing on arresting the spread of COVID-19-19, by leveraging geo-mobility intelligence, where data plays a key role.
There are other companies who have risen to the challenge by developing AI powered chatbots that reflect guidelines of local governments, Ministry of Health and medical fraternity. They provide the general public with interactive information, answers to FAQs on COVID-19 symptoms, screening and detection of potential cases. The AI solution also tracks the spread by analysing news reports, social media platforms and provides real-time updates.
This COVID-19 pandemic has no doubt exposed gaps in the healthcare infrastructure and related resources, that has led to more emphasis on adopting of new age technology and cloud services. Thanks to cloud, AI and advanced data analytics, patients, healthcare givers and general public are constantly kept informed about the outbreak and solutions available in real time.