Tracking COVID-19 in real time: Using tech to prevent outbreaks | Inder Singh | Big Think Edge

Tracking COVID-19 in Real Time How Tech and Innovation Can Fight Disease Outbreaks with Inder Singh Moderated by Akash Goel, M.D. How can we track the spread of COVID-19 where testing is not widely available? How can global health be improved by innovation and cooperation? Over the last few years, Kinsa has given away or sold millions of internet-connected thermometers to households across the US to collect data that can help predict and prevent flu outbreaks in US communities. Now, that smart tech is being leveraged to create the only real-time map of the coronavirus spread. In this live session with Kinsa founder and CEO Inder Singh, moderated by Dr. Akash Goel, M.D., you’ll learn how innovation can help us map global health threats, the best personal health practices during the COVID-19 outbreak, and why innovation in the health sector is critical to our global future. Ask your questions during the live Q&A! Explore Kinsa’s health map: healthweather.us About Kinsa’s Smart Thermometer Kinsa’s mission is to create the world’s first real-time map of human health to empower society with the information to track and stop the spread of disease. Kinsa gathers the data to map health using smartphone-connected sensors. It produces an ultra-low-cost smartphone-connected thermometer. By combining a thermometer with a smartphone, Kinsa “turns a thermometer into a communication device” with people who have just fallen ill. In addition to providing a temperature readout, this thermometer, marketed as the “world’s smartest thermometer,” tracks symptoms, enables one to get advice directly from a medical professional, and see the “health weather” in the local area to know whether flu or strep throat is circulating. Using the smartphone display and audio, it is also designed to ease taking a child’s temperature by creating an engaging experience for both a child and parent. Inder Singh is the founder and CEO of Kinsa, a venture-backed startup creating the first real-time health map. He formerly served as the Executive Vice President of the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), a global not-for-profit organization fighting malaria and other diseases. Singh is known for his worldwide presence actions for global health, particularly regarding malaria eradication. He is credited with saving over $1 billion in drug costs for developing nations. More than 2.6 million HIV/AIDS patients have received drugs subsidized through CHAI, and more than 30 million malaria patients have received drugs produced at lower cost thanks to CHAI licensing deals.