AI gives diagnosis of Covid-19 in 'a few minutes'

The programme is an improvement on PCR tests that typically take around two-hours.

It is hoped that the technology can eventually be used to help relieve strain on Accident and Emergency departments, particularly in countries where PCR tests are not readily available.

The technique utilises x-ray technology, comparing scans to a database of around 3000 images, belonging to patients with Covid-19, healthy individuals and people with viral pneumonia.

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It then uses a deep convolutional neural network, an algorithm typically used to analyse visual imagery, to make a diagnosis. During an extensive testing phase, the technique proved to be over 98 per cent accurate.

Professor Naeem Ramzan, director of the Affective and Human Computing for SMART Environments Research Centre at UWS, led the team behind the project.

He said: “There has long been a need for a quick and reliable tool that can detect Covid-19, and this has become even more true with the upswing of the Omicron variant.