The state of the current pandemic that we are in suggests that the fight against the virus will continue for quite some time now. It is beyond doubt that the covid-19 pandemic has raised fundamental questions on healthcare infrastructure and our technology readiness to deal with any contingency situation. The pandemic has forced us to rethink our capabilities to deal with future pandemics. There are a lot of functional areas where we can invest to deal with the pandemic. However, the fact that cannot be ignored is that technologies like machine learning can play a pivotal role in dealing with the pandemic.
Machine learning to counter the pandemic
Machine learning helps in numerous ways to deal with various facets of the pandemic. For instance, machine learning allows the identification of the segments of the population that are at a high risk of getting infected. The diagnostics of patients becomes easier when we employ machine learning techniques. In addition to this, machine learning also helps in faster drug discovery and other medication processes. It needs to be noted at this point in time that there are a large number of drugs that can be administered on a symptomatic basis. The availability of a large number of drugs often puts doctors in a dilemma regarding the choice of medicines. Various machine learning algorithms can hierarchically rank the medicines based on their effectiveness towards a particular disease. At the genetic level, machine learning techniques like deep learning can enable us to understand the molecular structure of the coronavirus in a better way. All this calls for know-how about machine learning techniques, especially in the medical fraternity. To be precise a certificate in machine learning can further reskill our doctors and other medical professionals, thereby giving them a much-awaited surgical precision.
The use cases of machine learning
The techniques of machine learning are particularly helpful in identifying the risk level and even categorizing patients so that diagnosis becomes easier. Machine learning techniques help in the identification of infection risk which gives the percentage at which a specific segment of a population can contract the virus. Machine learning techniques also help in predicting the risk of severity. This gives the extent of deterioration of the condition of a patient when he contracts the virus. Finally, machine learning also helps in predicting the outcome risk. This is a simple binary classification problem in which we get to know if the patient will survive or not based on the diagnostic data set
The way ahead
Machine learning techniques can also be harnessed to prevent the spread of infection in the first place itself. By identifying various types of risk factors on the basis of age, social distancing, sanitation, hygiene, location, and population density, we can take certain types of precautionary measures at an early stage. To conclude, machine learning can help us at all three important levels for countering not only the present pandemic but any other pandemic that we may have to face in the near future.
