According to the experiment conducted by researchers, WiFi waves are able to detect a respiratory disease!
Our connected devices say a lot about us. Connectivity is an essential element of our daily lives, difficult to spend a day without Internet! But our online usage habits are also telling, sometimes through a simple WiFi connection.
This is shown by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology who conducted research during the COVID pandemic. This US government agency worked on a method for detecting respiratory diseases from WiFi waves.
The waves analyzed to find diseases
During the pandemic, the world was in slow motion and changed its ways. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have not escaped this by looking into an astonishing problem. Is it possible to detect respiratory diseases from a WiFi connection?
WiFi uses waves to transmit information from one place to another. This transmission, invisible to the naked eye, passes through various elements including our bodies that leave traces.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology used a mannequin that simulates human breathing in a room that absorbs waves. A WiFi router and receiver device have been placed in this room. The model then simulated several respiratory diseases and the modifications that the waves undergo while crossing his body have been analyzed
An artificial intelligence then analyzed the traces left by the waves to identify respiratory problems with an accuracy of 99.54%! It should be noted, however, that these are specific conditions in an isolated room. Whether this technology can work in a more natural environment remains to be seen.
Our devices connected to the health service
This experiment confirms, once again, that new technologies can be put at the service of our health. The current best example remains the Apple Watch and other connected watches capable of detect abnormal heart rate, stress level, blood oxygen and more.
So who knows, maybe one day our connected devices will rely on WiFi waves to warn us of respiratory problems.
Source : New Atlas
