By the time the symptoms of highly infectious diseases such as Ebola become apparent, many people in an environment such as a hospital or military base may have been infected by the victim. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of California have patented a system that continually tracks all contacts between its staff (US 2003/204130). The staff carry a PDA, cellphone or pager with a WiFi connection that checks the proximity of other devices. The devices transmit the time and date of each encounter back to a central station that keeps a log of all such meetings. If anyone becomes infected, the system identifies people who have come into contact with the victim and so are at risk of becoming ill.
More from New Å®ÉúСÊÓÆµ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
DeepMind AI gives an extra day of warning ahead of deadly cyclones
News
Technology
Most people prefer AI-written stories – and can’t tell when they are made by humans
News
Mathematics
Why winner of biggest prize in maths has decided to work on AI instead
News
Technology
Could a new approach to AI finally deliver artificial general intelligence?
Features
Popular articles
Trending New Å®ÉúСÊÓÆµ articles