Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
Ask HN: Detect Coronavirus Fever via Webcam?
2 points by HaukeHi on March 18, 2020 | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments
I have an idea for creating an open-source zero marginal cost, digital thermometer to detect coronavirus. Can you help?

Here's the idea:

1. Heart rate can be estimated via (webcam) video of someone’s face with high accuracy (even with poor video quality).[1],[2]

2. This heart rate can then be used to estimate core temperature with high accuracy.[3],[4]

3. Fever (body temperature ≥38°C) [5] is the most typical symptom of C19 - in 88% of confirmed cases.[6] (Though some C19 transmission might be asymptomatic[7] and presymptomatic.[8],[9])

4. Can we start an open-source project to create a digital fever thermometer? This could be used as a smartphone app or on the web (ala donottouchyourface.com). A webcam could continuously monitor people’s temperature and alert them to it if they have a fever.

‘Thermometer Guns’ have drawbacks: they’re more expensive, you need to get close to someone’s head to take temperature, they are not very accurate, they don’t provide continuous measurement- yet it is still used for coronavirus containment.[10]

I feel if this would work, it might be a very cost-effective intervention to diagnose coronavirus.

[1] "Detecting Pulse from Head Motions in Video - People.csail.mit ...." http://people.csail.mit.edu/balakg/pulsefromheadmotion.html

[2] "Heart rate estimation using facial video: A review " https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1746809417301362

[3] "Estimating Resting Core Temperature Using Heart Rate" https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jmpb/1/2/article-p79.xml

[4] "Real-time core body temperature estimation from heart ... - NCBI." 13 May. 2015, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25967760

[5] "Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of ... - NEJM." https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316

All other citations here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D4nhDux-ncnsZjXJrmXkZiK7LJjH_tyxWkVJR3fOOJ0/edit?usp=sharing




How would you know the fever is because of Corona virus?

Are you going to assume all fevers are Corona? That seems a bit biased and over-reactionary


Great idea! Even though this will not help detect coronavirus directly, it will help ease off the load on the testing facilities.


It may well be, but in all seriousness, buy a thermometer and do accurate testing.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: