The University of Sydney and Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network have developed an IoT-based Covid-19 e-gate integrated entry screening system with the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

The team, the Digital Health Innovation Collaborative Lab, won the IoT Alliance Australia’s 2021 IoT Awards, winning the Health Award for its Covid-19 smart IoT screening pilot.

Tested earlier this year, and with potential for rollout for Covid-19 variants or reconfiguring for other infectious diseases, the e-gate provides a screening and contact tracing process before people enter the hospital.

Audrey Wang, a researcher in biomedical informatics and digital health from the University of Sydney, said the system used a personalised 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 utilises near real-time data analytics to provide the latest available screening information,” said Wang.

Director of information, communication and technology at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Michael Dickinson, said the system had been trialled 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 internet-of-things smart approach to health screening could be useful in other large locations such as airports and major sports or entertainment venues,” Dickinson said.

Wang added: “We welcome enquiries from organisations who wish to implement and evaluate technology augmented rapid screening workflow systems.”

The e-gate research project is a Westmead Health Precinct collaboration between the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine & Health, Faculty of Engineering, School of Architecture, Design & Planning and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, which is part of Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. It represents a multi-disciplinary collaboration facilitated by the Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases. 

The project has involved more than 20 people across the collaboration and key members include Audrey Wang, Zihuai Lin, Michael Dickinson, Anne Maree Davis, Soojeong Yoo, Gabriella Scandurra, Jichao Leng, Jason Dalmazzo, Ben Marais, Adam MacBeth, Natalia Gulbransen-Diaz, Jose Parada, Callum Parker, Sunny Bhatta, Kelvin Cheung and Chris Peck.