The University of Sydney and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network have developed an Australian-first COVID-19 e-Gate integrated entry screening system with The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
The team, the Digital Health Innovation (Collaborative) Lab has been celebrated today in the [Internet of Things] IoT Alliance Australia’s 2021 IoT Awards, winning the Health Award for its “COVID-19 Smart IoT Screening System Pilot at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network”.
Tested earlier this year, and with potential for rollout for COVID-19 variants or reconfiguring for other infectious diseases, the e-Gate provides an efficient screening and contact tracing process before people enter hospital.
Tested earlier this year, and with potential for rollout for COVID-19 variants or reconfiguring for other infectious diseases, the e-Gate provides an efficient screening and contact tracing process before people enter hospital.
Dr Audrey P Wang, a researcher in biomedical informatics and digital health from the University of Sydney, explains the system uses a personalised QR code for physical gate-enabled access based on a combination of evidence-based COVID-19 screening questions and temperature checks.
“Our COVID e-Gate utilises near real-time data analytics to provide the latest available screening information,” said Dr Wang, from the University’s Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, Charles Perkins Centre and Faculty of Medicine and Health.
Director of information, communication and technology at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Mr Michael Dickinson, said the system had been trialled by more than 1500 staff and regular visitors over the past eight months.
“Not only does the e-Gate have the ability to be easily expanded to other hospitals but, the Internet-of-Things smart approach to health screening could be useful in other large locations – such as airports and major sports or entertainment venues,” Mr Dickinson said.
Dr Wang concluded: “We welcome enquiries from organisations who wish to implement and evaluate technology augmented rapid screening workflow systems.”
The e-Gate research project is a Westmead Health Precinct collaboration between the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health, Faculty of Engineering, School of Architecture, Design and Planning and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, which is part of Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. It represents a multi-disciplinary collaboration facilitated by the Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases.
The project has involved more than 20 people across the collaboration and key members include Dr Audrey P Wang, Dr Zihuai Lin, Mr Michael Dickinson, Mrs Anne Maree Davis, Dr Soojeong Yoo, Dr Gabriella Scandurra, Mr Jichao Leng, Mr Jason Dalmazzo, Professor Ben Marais, Mr Adam MacBeth, Miss Natalia Gulbransen-Diaz, Mr Jose Parada, Dr Callum Parker, Mr Sunny Bhatta, Mr Kelvin Cheung, and Emeritus Professor Chris Peck.
In front of the e-Gate from right to left: Dr Audrey P Wang, lead investigator; Kate, a hospital volunteer; Jennifer Daly, nurse unit manager; Jichao Leng, PhD Student; Dr Soojeong Yoo, design investigator; Jose Parada, student intern.
Declaration:
No conflicts of interest to declare. The project was funded by the University of Sydney and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.
