SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTACT AVOIDANCE FOR PREVENTING EPIDEMICS

• Main Authors: Bandy, William R, Arneson, Michael R
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 14.10.2021
• Subjects: ACOUSTICS; ALARM SYSTEMS; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COUNTING; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING; ELECTRICITY; HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONTECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING ORPROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA; INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTEDFOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; SIGNALLING; SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; SPEECH ANALYSIS OR SYNTHESIS; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING; SPEECH RECOGNITION; TESTING; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION

Embodiments described herein are directed to a contact avoidance system for preventing epidemics. A database maintains a record for each person enrolled in the system. The record comprises a risk level identifier that indicates a disease infection risk for the user. When devices carried by users are proximate to each other, the devices exchange identifiers that uniquely and anonymously identify the users. At least one device provides the identifier received thereby to the database, which retrieves the record associated with the identifier and determines a risk level for the user associated with the identifier. The risk level is returned to the device, which issues an alert if the risk level indicates that the other user is or may be infected with a disease. The database also updates the risk level associated with users that were determined to be proximate to a user determined to be infected with the disease.