Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Remote Laboratory Management: Respiratory Virus Diagnostics
Published on: April 6, 2019
Advancing digital methods in the fight against communicable diseases
Guillaume Chabot-Couture1, Vincent Y Seaman2, Jay Wenger2
1Institute for Disease Modeling, Intellectual Ventures, Bellevue, 98005, USA gcouture@intven.com.
Digital tools like smartphones and computer models are advancing communicable disease control. These technologies improve program operations, offer new disease transmission insights, and aid strategic planning for global health initiatives.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Digital Health
Background:
- Communicable diseases pose significant global health challenges.
- Traditional methods for disease control face limitations in scalability and data acquisition.
- The integration of digital technology presents new opportunities for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the advancements in combating communicable diseases through digital tools.
- To discuss the benefits and challenges of deploying digital health technologies at scale.
- To showcase the application of these tools in real-world public health scenarios.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing GPS-enabled smartphones for data collection and program monitoring.
- Employing electronic dashboards for visualizing disease surveillance data.
- Leveraging computer models for predicting disease transmission patterns.
Main Results:
- Digital tools facilitate enhanced program operations, such as vaccination campaigns.
- New insights into disease transmission dynamics are gained through data analytics.
- Strategic planning for disease control is supported by predictive modeling.
Conclusions:
- Digital tools are crucial for modern communicable disease control efforts.
- Despite deployment challenges, technologies like smartphones and computer models offer substantial benefits.
- Successful applications include polio vaccination, malaria burden reduction, and epidemic prediction.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Principles of Disease Surveillance
Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence
Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
Investigation of Disease Outbreaks
Infection
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...

