IoT Platform for COVID-19 Prevention and Control: A Survey

Area of Science:

• Public Health and Epidemiology
• Computer Science and Engineering
• Information Technology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has highlighted the need for robust, long-term non-pharmaceutical interventions.
• Existing pharmaceutical treatments and vaccination rates are insufficient to fully control the pandemic's impact on public health and the global economy.
• The Internet of Things (IoT) offers ubiquitous sensing and connectivity, making it a promising technology for epidemic control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate how the Internet of Things (IoT) can be integrated into epidemic prevention and control systems.
• To present a fog-cloud combined IoT platform for systematic and intelligent COVID-19 prevention and control.
• To review the state-of-the-art in IoT-enabled interventions for current and future infectious disease epidemics.

Main Methods:

• Development of a fog-cloud combined IoT platform architecture.
• Integration of five key intervention modules: Symptom Diagnosis, Quarantine Monitoring, Contact Tracing & Social Distancing, Outbreak Forecasting, and Mutation Tracking.
• Literature review of existing IoT applications in epidemic control.

Main Results:

• The proposed IoT platform can systematically and intelligently support COVID-19 prevention and control.
• IoT capabilities are demonstrated across five critical intervention areas, leveraging ubiquitous sensing and connectivity.
• The review highlights the potential of IoT in countering the current pandemic and preparing for future outbreaks.

Conclusions:

• IoT platforms are essential for building resilient, long-term systems for infectious disease management.
• A fog-cloud combined IoT approach offers a comprehensive solution for intelligent epidemic control.
• Further research and implementation of IoT in public health are crucial for future pandemic preparedness.