4343
ANTIBODIES
ANTIVIRALS
No
match
Budding
Remdesivir
blocks
replication
Antibodies
taken from
sick patient
Drugs block Binding
spikes from
unlocking cell
equipment where they’re needed most.
It’s all about catching these cases as
early as possible, to minimize the peak of a
pandemic so the health system doesn’t get
overwhelmed. But it’s not just about see-
ing the trends. Flattening the surge of an
infectious disease also requires action, and
that’s where the advice gets muddier—
but also where Big Data and artificial
intelligence (AI) can provide clarity.
By deeply analyzing the care that every
COVID-19 patient receives, for exam-
ple, AI can tease out the best treatment
strategies. Jvion, a health care analytics
company, is using AI to study 30 million
patients in its data universe to identify
people and communities at highest risk
of COVID-19 on the basis of more than
5,000 variables that include not just med-
ical history but also lifestyle and socio-
economic factors such as access to stable
housing and transportation. Working with
clients that include large hospital systems
as well as small remote health centers, Jvi-
on’s platform creates lists of people who
should be contacted pro actively to warn
them about their vulnerability so health
providers can create a care plan for them.
In the case of COVID-19, that might
include social distancing and avoiding
large public gatherings. To help public-
health departments better prepare com-
munities for this and future outbreaks, the
company has communicated with the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion to share what it has learned.
Privacy issues, however, nest in every
single byte of data about a person’s health.
So the power of AI methods in control-
ling outbreaks depends on how effectively
data can be anonymized. Only when peo-
ple are assured of privacy can algorithms
help to navigate the next big hurdle: pre-
dicting surges in cases that strain health
care personnel and availability of supplies
like ventilators, masks and gowns.
If COVID-19 teaches public-health
officials one thing, it’s that there are
now tools available to help contain an
infectious disease before radical measures
like quarantines and curfews are needed.
“What we were doing 10 years ago and
what we are doing now is vastly different,”
says Wiesen. “There is a tremendous
opportunity here, and hopefully by [the
next pandemic], the use of technology and
data analytics is going to be light-years
ahead of where it is today.” •
REMOTE MONITORS
Devices like Heal Hub
let homebound patients
use dozens of apps to
measure health metrics
and alert their doctors
if the readings are
abnormal.
CHAT BOTS AND
CALL CENTERS
Trends in the types of
questions people ask
can signal a surge in
cases and the need
to scale up additional
health resources.
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
AI algorithms can pick
up new risk factors
for infection as well
as identify the most
effective ways to treat
symptoms.
ANTIVIRAL DRUGS
Antivirals work in different
ways. Some can block a
virus from infecting human
cells. Others are made from
antibodies that are isolated
from infected people who
recover. The experimental
drug remdesivir, currently
being tested in people, works
by blocking the virus’ ability to
copy its genetic material.
Once inside, the virus
uses mechanisms in the
cell to make copies of
itself. These copies are
released into the body to
infect other cells.
The body’s immune system
can produce antibodies,
but they may not attack the
virus because they can’t
bind strongly to its spike
proteins.
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TIME GRAPHIC BY EMILY BARONE AND LON TWEETEN
