WO2022050829A1

WO2022050829A1 - Intelligent system for checking the proper functioning of sense of smell in order to detect people infected with covid-19

Info

Publication number: WO2022050829A1
Application number: PCT/MA2020/050004
Authority: WO
Inventors: Youness FARHANE
Original assignee: Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah
Priority date: 2020-09-07
Filing date: 2020-11-26
Publication date: 2022-03-10
Also published as: MA50824A1; MA50824B1

Abstract

Our invention relates to systems used in public places (schools, supermarkets, airports, railway stations etc.) to check for symptoms of COVID-19; more particularly, our invention relates to an intelligent system that will help detect people infected with COVID-19 by checking the proper functioning of their sense of smell in order to allow them access to said public place.

Description

Intelligent system to control the proper functioning of the sense of smell to detect people with CoVid-19

Description:

1- Technical field to which the invention relates:

This invention relates to CoVid-19 symptom control systems used in public places (establishments, supermarkets, airports, stations, ...), more specifically, our invention relates to an intelligent system that will help detect people with of CoVid-19 by controlling the functioning of their sense of smell, to prevent them or let them access a public place.

2- State of the prior art:

Several systems and inventions exist to detect people with CoViD-19:

Thermal scanners;

Infrared cameras;

Remote thermometers.

Disadvantages of the systems mentioned:

These systems are not very reliable, because if a person takes Paracetamol their temperature will drop, so these systems mentioned above can no longer detect fever which is one of the symptoms of CoViD-19.

Apart from the control of CoVid-19, there are systems that can control or diagnose a loss of smell, namely the reference inventions:

EP1690378B1: This invention relates to a device and a method for transmitting and synchronizing multi-sensory information, as well as a system and a method for providing multimedia data of real sensations using the same. The device and method for transmitting and synchronizing multi-sensory information enable forming packets by description of vibration, smell and taste expressed in video/audio data.

WO2015126944A1: This invention relates to methods for diagnosing a subject having a loss and/or distortion of taste or smell.

WO2017146005A1: This invention relates to a method for easily and accurately tracking an individual's sense of smell. The invention relates in particular to a method for distinguishing the perception of odors by an individual. This process comprises: a classification step for classifying the odors of an exposure series into at least three groups, according to their similarity; a presentation step intended to present the smell of the foods representing each of the groups to the individual and enabling him to select the food which he associates with the smell; and an evaluation step for evaluating an individual having a high rate of correct answers and/or a low rate of incorrect answers as having a good sense of smell, and evaluating an individual having a low rate of correct answers and/or a high rate of incorrect answers such as having a reduced sense of smell.

US10667739B2: Disclosed is an olfactory examination apparatus comprising comprising an odor generating unit having an odor generating mechanism which stores an odorant and generates an odorant gas having a defined concentration or a defined intensity and a mechanism generating odorless gas; a gas supply unit configured to alternately supply an odorous gas or an odorless gas having a defined concentration or a defined intensity of the odor from the odor generating mechanism and the odorless gas generating mechanism to a candidate by a smell presenting mechanism placed on a nostril part of the candidate, and a response unit which allows the candidate to express a response by smelling the odorant in order to examine an olfactory function.

All existing inventions require the involvement and cooperation of the person concerned with the control or test, which makes these systems unreliable for use as independent control systems.

Our invention compared to the prior state, has the following advantages:

• High reliability;

• High efficiency;

• High security.

3- Presentation of the invention:

Fever, headache and loss of sense of smell are the most common symptoms of Covid-19 in patients with mild to moderate disease according to a study which highlights that the disease takes different forms depending on age and sex. These symptoms are not visible, and the person can hide them and access any public place undetected although they will be monitored through a temperature measurement system if they have taken a drug that lowers body temperature human.

Our invention describes an intelligent system for detecting possible people with CoViD-19 by checking the proper functioning of their sense of smell, consisting of the parts (Fig. 1):

• Odor sources (1), which will generate a very specific odor;

• An interface (2), which will allow the controlled person to respond to confirm whether he has smelled the odor generated by the sources (2) or not;

• An information processing system (3) to give the result obtained by the person checked and compare it with the real state of the sources (2).

4- Brief description of the drawings:

FIG. 1 represents a person in front of the intelligent control system;

Figure 2 represents the elements of the intelligent system, with (1) the odor sources, (2) the interface to respond and (3) the information processing system.

Figure 3 shows the operation of the intelligent system.

5- Detailed presentation of the embodiment of the invention:

Our invention describes an intelligent system for detecting possible people with CoViD-19 by checking the proper functioning of their sense of smell, to prohibit them or allow them access to public places.

According to Figure 2, the system object of the invention is composed of the following parts:

• Sources of odors (1), positioned in front of the nose of the person to be checked, they are designed to avoid any contamination or infection, and they will generate very specific odors, the number of sources is chosen according to the certainty sought, the simplest case is of three sources, at least one source does not generate an odor and at least one source generates an odor during the control, for each control the states are changed (with odor, without odor) or the source order.

• An interface (2), positioned in front of the person to be checked, it will allow him to respond to confirm whether he has smelled the odor generated by the sources (2) or not. To avoid infection, the person to be checked can validate his choice using his foot or another part of his body or an intermediate element or without direct contact. • An information processing system (3), the intelligent part which will compare the information coming from the odor sources with the response of the controlled person, if the response coincides with the state of the odor sources the person is healthy and the system emits a sound or light signal indicating that the situation is normal, otherwise the system triggers a sound or light alarm indicating that the person is suspected and they will be prohibited from accessing the public place concerned.

Another part of the invention is the method for detecting people with CoViD-19 comprising the following steps a. Whether or not the odor is generated by the odor emission system; b. Validation of the choice by the person to be checked; vs. Comparison of the choice entered with the system data: i. if the response coincides with the state of the odor sources, the person is assumed to be healthy and the system emits a sound or light signal indicating that the situation is normal, ii. if the answer is different from the state of the odor sources, the person is suspected and he will be prohibited from entering the relevant public place.

Example of operation:

• To control a person, an intelligent system with three odor sources "A", "B" and "C", will for example: generate an odor in the source (A) = 1 no odor in the source (B ) = 0 generate an odor in the source (C) = 1

The healthy person will give an answer, via the interface part, which coincides exactly with the state of the 1-0-1 sources, on the other hand an infected person will surely get the wrong result.

Another configuration that the intelligent system can propose with four odor sources "A", "B", "C" and "D": no odor in the source (A) = 0 generate an odor in the source ( B) = 1 generate smell in source (C) = 1 no smell in source (D) = 0 A healthy person will give an answer, via the interface part, which coincides exactly with the state of the sources, ie: 0-1-1-0, on the other hand an infected person will surely get the result wrong.

Each time the result obtained by the person checked will be compared with the state of the sources if it coincides the person can access the place otherwise he will be prohibited from entering it.

The number of odor sources can be increased or decreased depending on the precision and certainty sought.

6- Industrial application:

Our invention is applicable in the field of control systems used to detect possible people with CoViD-19, generally installed in the entrances to public places.

Claims

Claims:

1. Intelligent system for detecting people with CoViD-19 characterized in that it comprises: a. Sources of odors (1); b. An interface (2) to mention answers and choices; and c. An intelligent part containing an information processing system (3) which will manage the odor sources, compare the actual states of the odor sources with the response or the choices of the states of what the person to control has smelled and announce the result: i. if the answer coincides with the actual states of the odor sources, the announced result indicates that the person is healthy, ii. if the answer is different from the actual states of the odor sources, the announced result indicates that the person is suspected.

2. Intelligent system for detecting people with CoViD-19, according to claim 1, characterized in that the odor sources (1), positioned in front of the nose of the person to be checked, will generate very specific odors.

3. Intelligent system for detecting people with CoViD-19, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the odor sources (1) are designed to avoid any possible contamination or infection.

4. Intelligent system for detecting people with CoViD-19, according to claims 1, 2 and 3, characterized in that the number of sources is chosen according to the certainty sought, at least one source does not generate an odor and at least one source generates an odor during the control.

5. Intelligent system for detecting people with CoViD-19, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sources can change state for each control.

6. Intelligent system for detecting people with CoViD-19, according to claim 1, characterized in that the interface (2), positioned in front of the person to be checked, will allow him to respond to confirm whether he has felt the smell generated by the sources (2) or not.

7. Intelligent system for detecting people with CoViD-19, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the person to be checked can validate his

6 choice using his foot to avoid infection or by another part of his body or by an intermediate element or without outright contact. Intelligent system for detecting people suffering from CoViD-19, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the information processing system (3) emits sound or light signals depending on the state of the person controlled.

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