It is said that the influenza season usually reaches its peak around this time in early February. The most common method for testing is to collect nasal mucosa samples, but methods that use AI (artificial intelligence) are now becoming more popular.
According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the number of influenza patients reported by approximately 5,000 medical institutions nationwide was 94,694 in the week ending January 28, or 19.2 cases per medical institution. This is an increase from the previous week.
Clinics around the country are crowded with people coming to get tested, but now new testing methods that utilize AI (artificial intelligence) are starting to spread.
The new inspection method first uses a small camera equipped with AI to take pictures of the condition of the throat.
The AI learns based on over 500,000 images of throats and determines whether there are "influenza follicles" that are said to form in the throat when infected with influenza.
The time it takes is from a few seconds to more than 10 seconds, and based on this, the doctor takes an interview and diagnoses influenza.
According to a clinic in Saitama Prefecture that has installed the device, it has been well-received, especially by patients who are not good at testing the nasal mucosa.
In addition, "influenza follicles" are said to appear soon after the onset of symptoms, leading to a shorter time to diagnosis.
Tests using this device are covered by insurance and are beginning to be used at medical institutions across the country.
A 10-year-old girl who took the test said, ``She didn't feel any pain and the results came out right away, which was amazing.''
Dr. Masami Imashiro of Imajo Clinic in Saitama Prefecture, which introduced the device, said, ``We introduced it to improve diagnostic accuracy and work efficiency with high hopes for new technology. I feel that speeding up the process will be beneficial for both patients and medical professionals."