Researchers at INiBICA, in collaboration with the company E Process Med, are leading an artificial intelligence project to accelerate the current COVID-19 screening strategy
The clinical trial, which is recruiting participants at Puerta del Mar Hospital and Puerto Real, has received more than 170,000 euros in funding from the Department of Health and Families of the Regional Government of Andalusia, as part of the competitive call for proposals “ Projects ” for R&D in health, under a public-private partnership model.
Puerto Real , and Puerta del Mar University Hospitals in Cádiz are leading an artificial intelligence project aimed at accelerating the screening process for patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection. This research and innovation project, titled D&SAI, has also been awarded one of six competitive grants funded under a public-private partnership.
The study is co-led by Drs. Alberto Romero Palacios (Head of the Infectious Diseases Section at the University Hospital Puerto Real) and José Antonio Girón González (Head of the Internal Medicine Department at Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar), both researchers at the Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Cádiz (INiBICA), in collaboration with the company E-PROCESS-MED S.L. This collaboration aims to implement an innovative diagnostic method to improve the current strategy for identifying COVID-19-negative patients in healthcare settings.
The project consists of a prospective, multicenter clinical study in which selected subjects will undergo the necessary tests to confirm the proposed hypothesis, which aims to equate the effectiveness of a negative PCR test result with that obtained through an antigen test in conjunction with the company’s technological tool, D&S-COVID. This tool uses a predictive algorithm developed using artificial intelligence, based on medical history and epidemiological questionnaires, which currently allows for the detection of COVID-19 patients with high sensitivity, although with low specificity.
If the comparability of both strategies is demonstrated, the project’s results will be of significant help in the management of patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, the ability to rule out active infection without having to wait for a PCR result (which takes at least 3–4 hours in the best-case scenario) will reduce diagnostic time as well as the cost of materials and healthcare resources (both financial and human) allocated to COVID-19 diagnosis, which would undoubtedly have a positive impact on the course of the current pandemic.
🔗 More information: Diario de Cádiz
