Health personnel with symptoms priority in Covid scan analyzer

COVID ANALYZER. Mayor Benjamin Magalong inspects the Huawei Artificial Intelligence (AI) CT Scan System which will test its first Covid-19 person under investigation. Baguio is the first recipient of the scanner developed by Huawei. The results of the scan are not conclusive and confirmatory but will give the city a heads up. (PNA photo courtesy of PIO Baguio)

By Pigeon Lobien  

BAGUIO CITY – A new technology that could detect coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will start to operate at the Baguio General Hospital Medical Center (BGHMC).

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Covid- 19 Scan Analyzer, a new technology developed by telecommunication giant Huawei will first test health personnel showing symptoms of the Covid-19.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said on Monday initial tests using the AI Covid 19 Scan Analyzer could show results within two minutes that would relieve patients as well as health workers from the burden of having to wait for days for results to come out.

This would give them time to go into quarantine and medication, he said.

“I am not saying that test results of this technology are confirmatory because they are not but it is said to have 98 [percent] accuracy so at least we can have a heads-up on whether a particular patient is a presumptive case or not,” Magalong said.

He said the machine could be helpful as cases that will not turn presumptive could go home and not swamp hospital or quarantine facilities that have a limited number of rooms.

Philip Puzon, head of the city’s Management Information and Technical Division (MITD) which worked with Huawei-EVI support team and Baguio doctors in installing the program, said Baguio is lucky to be the first recipient of the technology.

“The technology works in that its server is connected to the AI Cloud of Huawei which scans Philippine test results and compares them to the repository of results then tells the doctor if the case is highly probable in terms of percentage of diagnosis. However, in the end, it is still the doctor who will decide on the diagnosis,” Puzon said.

Baguio has recorded its first Covid-19 case on March 23- a when a 61-year old Filipino overseas worker from Italy who was tested positive while several others are the presumptive positive and awaiting result.

Although Huawei’s program’s diagnostic capability is limited, it can still tell probable cases, Puzon said.

The technology is expected to be operational this week.

Meanwhile, the city government is working out the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) to supply the needs of hospital workers and ensure that they are protected while attending to Covid patients.

City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña said the city is swamped with requests for face masks, gloves, and others from public and private hospitals.

Magalong said they already ordered 500,000 masks; 300 forehead thermometers and 15,000 gowns and booties however they are encountering difficulties in working out the purchases due to limited supply.

Last weekend, the city gave two boxes of 3M face masks to the Triage and Radiology Office of the BGHMC and one box to Saint Louis Hospital of the Sacred Heart.

The Filipino-Chinese community also donated 2,500 pieces of masks, making their total donation run up to 15,000 which were all given away to hospitals. (PNA)