Epidemiological investigation of the COVID-19 outbreak in Vellore district in South India using Geographic Information Surveillance (GIS).

OBJECTIVES: Geographical Information Surveillance (GIS) is an advanced digital technology tool that maps location-based data and helps in epidemiological modeling. We applied GIS to analyze patterns of spread and hotspots of COVID-19 cases in the Vellore district in South India. METHODS: Laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases from the Vellore district and neighboring taluks from March 2020 to June 2021 were geocoded and spatial maps were generated. Time trends exploring urban-rural burden with an age-sex distribution of cases and other variables were correlated with outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 45,401 cases of COVID-19 were detected, with 20,730 cases during the first wave and 24,671 cases during the second wave. The overall incidence rates of COVID-19 were 462.8 and 588.6 per 100,000 population during the first and second waves, respectively. The spread pattern revealed epicenters in densely populated urban areas with radial spread sparing rural areas in the first wave. The case fatality rate was 1.89% and 1.6% during the first and second waves, which increased with advancing age. CONCLUSIONS: Modern surveillance systems like GIS can accurately predict the trends and spread patterns during future pandemics. In addition, real-time mapping can help design risk mitigation strategies, thereby preventing the spread to rural areas.

Classification of thyroid nodules using ultrasound images.

Medical imaging using image sensors play an essential role in effective diagnosis. Therefore, it is of interest to use medical imaging techniques for the diagnosis of thyroid-linked dysfunction. Ultrasound is the low-cost image processing technique to study internal organs and blood flow in blood vessels. Digital processed images help to distinguish between normal, benign and malignant tissue stages in organs.Hence, it is of importance to discuss the design and development of a computer-aided image-processing model for thyroid nodule identification, classification and diagnosis.