Media Watch Archives
UC Irvine researchers develop app to help track COVID-19, but will people use it?
Daily Pilot -
UC Irvine researchers have developed a phone application that could potentially help stem the spread of COVID-19 by tracking and isolating people who may have been exposed to the deadly virus. But activist groups and legal experts are warning of potential privacy encroachments that could occur if tracking technology is widely adopted. … Tyler Yasaka, the project’s lead author, said privacy was a significant consideration for the group as they developed the tool.[Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More
New App Uses QR Codes to Trace Coronavirus Exposure
Nextgov -
TrackCOVID could be instrumental in this effort. The project appears in a paper published recently in JMIR mHealth and uHealth. “Contact tracing is the process of tracking down and isolating people who may have been exposed to an infectious disease after someone has tested positive,” says lead author Tyler Yasaka, a software engineer and junior specialist in otolaryngology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. … TrackCOVID works in a different way, he says, by creating an anonymous graph of interactions. Read More
Can smartphone apps track COVID-19 without violating your privacy?
Popular Science -
“We’re looking at probably some sort of automated technology-based contact tracing, I think, if we want to be realistic,” says Tyler Yasaka, a software engineer and junior specialist in otolaryngology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. He and his colleagues are among many teams of researchers around the world who have developed mobile apps to track the spread of COVID-19. Read More
How to Make a Ventilator
VICE -
Govind Rajan, an anesthesiologist at UC Irvine’s medical school and a contributor to the Bridge Ventilator Consortium ventilator project, described the use-case for that project as “only in situations where you don't have any ventilators available and the patient needs a ventilator.” In collaboration with the consortium, Virgin Orbit has designed a ventilator of the “automating-a-manual-resuscitator” variety. It’s nowhere near as complex as a critical care ventilator. Read More
UC Irvine students developing app to trace path, keep track of COVID-19 exposure checkpoints
ABC7 -
An app that has the potential to trace the path of COVID-19, while also maintaining the identity of the individuals who use it, is in the works at the University of California, Irvine. Instead of focusing on who contracts it, the app records that various places the virus itself presents itself, said junior specialist Tyler Ysaka, one of the co-creators of TrackCOVID. … "I tried to think about a design where you really don't keep up with the people as much as possible. You just keep up with the paths that the virus could take," Yasaka said. Read More
What’s New in Civic Tech: New App Traces Coronavirus Contact
Government Technology -
Developers have built a new smartphone app for tracing potential coronavirus infections. A team of researchers at the University of California, Irvine announced the tool this week, describing as potentially “instrumental” in the effort to trace and track infections, which is something governors have described as a vital step in reopening the economy. The tool is called TrackCOVID, and it is a free, open-sourced app that its creators say also ensures the privacy of those who are potentially affected. Read More
How healthcare is using tech to accelerate COVID-19 contract tracing
Becker’s Health IT -
UC Irvine researchers created a free smartphone app, dubbed TrackCOVID, which develops an anonymous graph of interactions by pooling user data every time an individual gathers with others or goes to a public place. App users can log their interactions and "checkpoints", or places visited, and the app anonymously links users' interactions as they congregate in the same places over time. Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 can anonymously report it through the app, which will notify users who may be at risk of exposure based on the graph of interactions. Read More
US Senator concerned about privacy in Apple and Google’s Covid-19 tracing tech
E&T Magazine -
One solution could be a new open-source app that permits contact tracing for potential coronavirus infections while preserving the privacy of its users. Developed by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, TrackCOVID works by creating an anonymous graph of interactions. Every time a person gathers with others or goes to a public place, he or she can use the app to log contacts by either hosting or joining a checkpoint, which allows possible paths of virus transmission to be discovered. Read More
New app uses QR codes to trace coronavirus exposure
Futurity -
TrackCOVID could be instrumental in this effort. The project appears in a paper published recently in JMIR mHealth and uHealth. “Contact tracing is the process of tracking down and isolating people who may have been exposed to an infectious disease after someone has tested positive,” says lead author Tyler Yasaka, a software engineer and junior specialist in otolaryngology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. … TrackCOVID works in a different way, he says, by creating an anonymous graph of interactions. Read Now
UCI team develops smartphone application for coronavirus contact tracing
Medical Xpress -
On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested that reopening the state's economy will require six steps, the first of which involves "tracing and tracking individuals" in order to identify those who need to remain in isolation. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a tool that could be instrumental in this effort. TrackCOVID is a free, open-source smartphone application that permits contact tracing for potential coronavirus infections while preserving privacy. Read More