The University of Virginia Health system has developed an artificial intelligence program to detect and monitor early COVID19 signs and symptoms. Medical staff will use the technology to provide an extra level of oversight to predict oncoming deterioration, which gives doctors and nurses a head start on treatment.

The AI system, known as CoMET, analyzes live patient data to offer a better prediction of the level of care needed for each individual.

"What we have been working on and what we’ve developed is a system that takes in all of the information about the patient. All the vital signs, laboratory, tests and uses artificial intelligence to present back to the doctor or nurse the risk of the deterioration soon," said Dr. Randall Moorman, a UVA cardiologist and creator of CoMET software.

COVID19 can often cause severe symptoms to come without warning, and healthcare professionals may not always catch warning signs until they’re too late. CoMET offers an extra security measure to give both patients and staff peace of mind.

"It can help a lot to have a running start on those decisions by knowing the patient is starting to get worse. Early warnings can empower those clinicians to do diagnostic tests or to start therapy earlier on in the illness." added Moormen.

The rapid development of the vaccine should help mitigate major medical complications in coming months. But having the support of a sophisticated AI system like CoMET will certainly assist in the meantime.