Covid diagnosis using WhatsApp: How X-ray images can help detect virus

A new startup, based in Bengaluru has devised a new technology called XraySetu that will help India deal with the second wave of Covid-19 which is spreading in the hinterlands of the country. The AI-driven technology uses X-ray images sent via WhatsApp to help determine if the subject is suffering from Covid-19. Users are being invited to test the beta version of the technology.

The images sent over WhatsApp can be highly pixelated due to lack of good quality cameras or just the app’s compression. However, the AI is designed to identify Covid positive patients even from low-resolution chest X-ray images, according to the Department of Science and Technology.