With The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, the University of Sydney and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network have developed an IoT-based COVID-19 e-Gate integrated entry screening system. In one system, the COVID e-Gate integrates contact tracking information and temperature screens.

The e-Gate, which was tested earlier this year and could be used for COVID-19 variations or reconfigured for other infectious diseases, is designed to enable an efficient screening and contact tracing process before people enter the hospital.

According to Dr. Audrey P Wang, a University of Sydney researcher in biomedical informatics and digital health, the approach uses a personalized QR code for physical gate-enabled access based on a combination of evidence-based COVID-19 screening questions and temperature checks.

“Our COVID e-Gate utilizes near real-time data analytics to provide the latest available screening information,” said Dr. Wang, from the University’s Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, Charles Perkins Centre, and Faculty of Medicine and Health.

Director of technology at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Mr. Michael Dickinson, said the system had been trialed by more than 1500 staff and regular visitors over the past eight months. “Not only does the e-Gate have the ability to be easily expanded to other hospitals but the IoT smart approach to health screening could be useful in other large locations – such as airports and major sports or entertainment venues,” Mr. Dickinson said.

Dr. Wang said: “We welcome inquiries from organizations who wish to implement and evaluate technology augmented rapid screening workflow systems.”

The e-Gate research project is a cooperation between the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health, Faculty of Engineering, School of Architecture, Design, and Planning, and the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network’s The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. The Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases facilitated the multi-disciplinary partnership.