Page 8 - The Next Pandemic: What's to Come?

stored. In fact, IoE records too much data for ordinary proces-
sors to handle. The data comes from smartphones and social
media, geospatial tracking devices, satellite imagery, sensors on
all sorts of machinery, and many other sources. Sifting this data
for clues to potential outbreaks has produced a whole new fi eld of
medicine, called computation epidemiology. It employs comput-
ers powered by artifi cial intelligence to sort through mountains of
data, looking for patterns that might reveal a possible outbreak of
disease on the horizon. In this way, an unusual cluster of coughs
or fevers could lead health offi cials to investigate.
Clues to potential outbreaks can be found in traditional plac-
es, such as doctors’ diagnoses, lab samples, patient reports, and
video checkups. But these sources can take weeks to compile
and compare. What is more rapidly available is data pulled from
linked devices like smartphones and smart watches. The Fitbit
and Whoop trackers worn by runners and other people who ex-
ercise can provide hints of impending illness. Health-conscious
owners use the devices to monitor heart rate, body temperature,
weight loss, and other physical signs. The Apple Watch tracks its
owner’s sleep patterns and oxygen levels, while also giving users
the option to sync their devices with other users. Amazon’s digital
assistant Alexa can record sneezes and coughs. Patterns of ill-
ness can be cross-checked with these results to pinpoint likely
outbreaks as soon as they appear.
As the MOBS Lab noted, smartphones also track their own-
ers’ movements. They reveal where people have been and where
they are going. Social media posts and airline reservations add to
the mix. Technology and telecom companies can help data ex-
perts map how a pathogen travels and predict future pathways.
Armed with this information, health offi cials can locate areas of
high risk and issue real-time warnings to the public.

Scanning for Signs of Illness
Along with self-monitoring smart devices, scientists are turning to
data from public monitoring systems. These systems use machine

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