Fighting Pandemics Using Non-Pharmaceutical Technologies and IoT Solutions: A Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND: Covid-19, ever since it culminated into a full on global pandemic, has been the focus of much human endeavour. These have mainly come in one of two forms: as pharmaceutical interventions like vaccines, or non-pharmaceutical interventions like social distancing, and contact tracing. While both were partially successful, the overall image of the Covid-19 pandemic has been one of failure, with an inability to fully stop the virus. Moreover, many problems were had even dealing with its consequences, as health systems got overwhelmed, and governments generally could not respond appropriately, or in time. Vaccines were not made available in due time in many places. In most developing countries vaccination rates are still low, showcasing the inequity that was brought by this pandemic, and the problems with administrating vaccines at a global level, across many cultures. Perhaps even worse, we know that there is an appreciable chance that the SARS-CoV-2 virus will not be the last, with new viruses as possible threats for humanity, and new variants evolving, constantly eluding the scope of otherwise static vaccines. Therefore, in this systematic literature review, non-pharmaceutical technological interventions (NPIs) and IoT technologies are explored as perhaps the most viable solutions for curbing current and subsequent pandemics, trying to overcome inequity of resources, and transitioning into a society that is pandemic resistant, rather than prone. METHODS: Papers were chosen from three databases (Scopus, IEEE, ACM) after various inquiries. These databases were chosen specifically for the control they give in search function, their size, and relevance, especially concerning IEEE and ACM. Inclusion criteria were that the NPI, technology or solution in general had to have been successfully tested, or utilized in real world cases, or studies. Technologies that were pharmaceutical in nature were excluded. RESULTS: A wide selection of technologies were observed to be not only available, but partly, or completely, in successful use. The main challenges moving further were identified as 1) the need for further, and more technologically varied adoption, and 2) better coordination between various pre-existing solutions via software and IoT technologies, culminating in smarter cities. DISCUSSION: One of the limitations to this study is that while there were a lot of solutions found aimed at bettering many NPIs, with such a large set of selections, that comparisons of effectiveness between these methods were limited. Most times the main comparative piece was the current state of the industry solution, or none at all as the proposal was new technology. Another was the near impossibility of bringing together all technologies, as a consensus is far from being reached, and new solutions are proposed monthly. OTHER: No funding was received.BACKGROUND: Covid-19, ever since it culminated into a full on global pandemic, has been the focus of much human endeavour. These have mainly come in one of two forms: as pharmaceutical interventions like vaccines, or non-pharmaceutical interventions like social distancing, and contact tracing. While both were partially successful, the overall image of the Covid-19 pandemic has been one of failure, with an inability to fully stop the virus. Moreover, many problems were had even dealing with its consequences, as health systems got overwhelmed, and governments generally could not respond appropriately, or in time. Vaccines were not made available in due time in many places. In most developing countries vaccination rates are still low, showcasing the inequity that was brought by this pandemic, and the problems with administrating vaccines at a global level, across many cultures. Perhaps even worse, we know that there is an appreciable chance that the SARS-CoV-2 virus will not be the last, with new viruses as possible threats for humanity, and new variants evolving, constantly eluding the scope of otherwise static vaccines. Therefore, in this systematic literature review, non-pharmaceutical technological interventions (NPIs) and IoT technologies are explored as perhaps the most viable solutions for curbing current and subsequent pandemics, trying to overcome inequity of resources, and transitioning into a society that is pandemic resistant, rather than prone. METHODS: Papers were chosen from three databases (Scopus, IEEE, ACM) after various inquiries. These databases were chosen specifically for the control they give in search function, their size, and relevance, especially concerning IEEE and ACM. Inclusion criteria were that the NPI, technology or solution in general had to have been successfully tested, or utilized in real world cases, or studies. Technologies that were pharmaceutical in nature were excluded. RESULTS: A wide selection of technologies were observed to be not only available, but partly, or completely, in successful use. The main challenges moving further were identified as 1) the need for further, and more technologically varied adoption, and 2) better coordination between various pre-existing solutions via software and IoT technologies, culminating in smarter cities. DISCUSSION: One of the limitations to this study is that while there were a lot of solutions found aimed at bettering many NPIs, with such a large set of selections, that comparisons of effectiveness between these methods were limited. Most times the main comparative piece was the current state of the industry solution, or none at all as the proposal was new technology. Another was the near impossibility of bringing together all technologies, as a consensus is far from being reached, and new solutions are proposed monthly. OTHER: No funding was received

Recent Advances in Wearable Sensing Technologies

Wearable sensing technologies are having a worldwide impact on the creation of novel business opportunities and application services that are benefiting the common citizen. By using these technologies, people have transformed the way they live, interact with each other and their surroundings, their daily routines, and how they monitor their health conditions. We review recent advances in the area of wearable sensing technologies, focusing on aspects such as sensor technologies, communication infrastructures, service infrastructures, security, and privacy. We also review the use of consumer wearables during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and we discuss open challenges that must be addressed to further improve the efficacy of wearable sensing systems in the future

In search of the radio frequency identification (RFID) implementation framework: Lessons from the United Kingdom's public sector

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This study presents a normative framework of the RFID implementation process in the UK public sector. It was motivated by the lack of socio-technical studies on the RFID implementation process in the UK public sector and the need for existing and potential RFID project managers to have an implementation model which could guide their effort in implementing any RFID initiatives in the sector. The study has been conducted through a combination of case study research and grounded theory research approach. Primary data have been collected from the in-depth interviews conducted with the RFID project managers from seven public sector organisations, i.e., five libraries and two hospitals. The analyses of the data were in two main stages. The first stage involved the analysis of the RFID implementation process in each of the organisations and the second stage involved a cross analysis of the RFID implementation process across the entire organisations. Potential contribution towards the existing body of knowledge on RFID implementation was in the form of a normative framework of RFID implementation process in the public sector. This framework describes the main and sub activities in the implementation process, and illustrates the dissimilarities and similarities between the implementation processes. Consequently, the implications of the study to the existing and potential RFID project managers in the public sector and also to the study of information system and RFID implementation are discussed

Modelling and Experimental Assessment of Inter-Personal Distancing Based on Shared GNSS Observables

In the last few years, all countries worldwide have fought the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by exploiting Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to perform contact tracing. In parallel, the pandemic has highlighted the relevance of mobility and social distancing among citizens. The monitoring of such aspects appeared prominent for reactive decision-making and the effective tracking of the infection chain. In parallel to the proximity sensing among people, indeed, the concept of social distancing has captured the attention to signal processing algorithms enabling short-to-medium range distance estimation to provide behavioral models in the emergency. By exploiting the availability of smart devices, the synergy between mobile network connectivity and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), cooperative ranging approaches allow computing inter-personal distance measurements in outdoor environments through the exchange of light-weight navigation data among interconnected users. In this paper, a model for Inter-Agent Ranging (IAR) is provided and experimentally assessed to offer a naive collaborative distancing technique that leverages these features. Although the technique provides distance information, it does not imply the disclosure of the user’s locations being intrinsically prone to protect sensitive user data. A statistical error model is presented and validated through synthetic simulations and real, on-field experiments to support implementation in GNSS-equipped mobile devices. Accuracy and precision of IAR measurements are compared to other consolidated GNSS-based techniques showing comparable performance at lower complexity and computational effort

A Survey of COVID-19 in Public Transportation: Transmission Risk, Mitigation and Prevention

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing significant challenges to public transport operators by drastically reducing demand while also requiring them to implement measures that minimize risks to the health of the passengers. While the collective scientific understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 pandemic are rapidly increasing, currently there is a lack of understanding of how the COVID-19 relates to public transport operations. This article presents a comprehensive survey of the current research on COVID-19 transmission mechanisms and how they relate to public transport. We critically assess literature through a lens of disaster management and survey the main transmission mechanisms, forecasting, risks, mitigation, and prevention mechanisms. Social distancing and control on passenger density are found to be the most effective mechanisms. Computing and digital technology can support risk control. Based on our survey, we draw guidelines for public transport operators and highlight open research challenges to establish a research roadmap for the path forward.Peer reviewe

TraceAll: A Real-Time Processing for Contact Tracing Using Indoor Trajectories

The rapid spread of infectious diseases is a major public health problem. Recent developments in fighting these diseases have heightened the need for a contact tracing process. Contact tracing can be considered an ideal method for controlling the transmission of infectious diseases. The result of the contact tracing process is performing diagnostic tests, treating for suspected cases or self-isolation, and then treating for infected persons; this eventually results in limiting the spread of diseases. This paper proposes a technique named TraceAll that traces all contacts exposed to the infected patient and produces a list of these contacts to be considered potentially infected patients. Initially, it considers the infected patient as the querying user and starts to fetch the contacts exposed to him. Secondly, it obtains all the trajectories that belong to the objects moved nearby the querying user. Next, it investigates these trajectories by considering the social distance and exposure period to identify if these objects have become infected or not. The experimental evaluation of the proposed technique with real data sets illustrates the effectiveness of this solution. Comparative analysis experiments confirm that TraceAll outperforms baseline methods by 40% regarding the efficiency of answering contact tracing querie

In search of the radio frequency identification (RFID) implementation framework : lessons from the United Kingdom's public sector

This study presents a normative framework of the RFID implementation process in the UK public sector. It was motivated by the lack of socio-technical studies on the RFID implementation process in the UK public sector and the need for existing and potential RFID project managers to have an implementation model which could guide their effort in implementing any RFID initiatives in the sector. The study has been conducted through a combination of case study research and grounded theory research approach. Primary data have been collected from the in-depth interviews conducted with the RFID project managers from seven public sector organisations, i.e., five libraries and two hospitals. The analyses of the data were in two main stages. The first stage involved the analysis of the RFID implementation process in each of the organisations and the second stage involved a cross analysis of the RFID implementation process across the entire organisations. Potential contribution towards the existing body of knowledge on RFID implementation was in the form of a normative framework of RFID implementation process in the public sector. This framework describes the main and sub activities in the implementation process, and illustrates the dissimilarities and similarities between the implementation processes. Consequently, the implications of the study to the existing and potential RFID project managers in the public sector and also to the study of information system and RFID implementation are discussed.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Recent Advances in Health Biotechnology During Pandemic

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in 2019, cut the epoch that will make profound fluctuates in the history of the world in social, economic, and scientific fields. Urgent needs in public health have brought with them innovative approaches, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. To exceed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various scientific authorities in the world have procreated advances in real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based diagnostic tests, rapid diagnostic kits, the development of vaccines for immunization, and the purposing pharmaceuticals for treatment. Diagnosis, treatment, and immunization approaches put for- ward by scientific communities are cross-fed from the accrued knowledge of multidisciplinary sciences in health biotechnology. So much so that the pandemic, urgently prioritized in the world, is not only viral infections but also has been the pulsion in the development of novel approaches in many fields such as diagnosis, treatment, translational medicine, virology, mi- crobiology, immunology, functional nano- and bio-materials, bioinformatics, molecular biol- ogy, genetics, tissue engineering, biomedical devices, and artificial intelligence technologies. In this review, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of various scientific areas of health biotechnology are discussed