Page 14 - ASYMPTOMATIC COVID-19 QUARANTINE DIGITAL SOLUTION: A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT STUDY (NMRR-20-2761-57684)

ASYMPTOMATIC COVID-19 QUARANTINE DIGITAL SOLUTION: A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT
STUDY
14

1. INTRODUCTION

A study in Malaysia demonstrated that 95% of COVID-19 cases were mild with 3.5%

1
of these patients progressed to severe disease . The same study revealed that the
milder cases did not require active treatments which supports the established

1,2
guidelines by the Ministry of Health in treating COVID-19 patients . Thus, Malaysia
implemented home quarantine for COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or with

mild symptoms in response to the upsurge in the daily confirmed cases .
3
Nevertheless, monitoring of both symptoms and vital signs while in quarantine is

important as these patients are at risk of sudden deterioration caused by silent

4
hypoxia .

However, emerging evidence shows a drop in patient oxygen saturation, increased

respiratory rate and fever may predict worsening disease stage in COVID-19 patients
thus a regular real-time monitoring of these parameters may alert the health care

practitioner to any changes in the patient's health status 1,5,6 . Therefore, the availability
of biosensor technology and mobile application under an integrated alert system will

7,8
be beneficial in making remote monitoring feasible .

To address the problems faced by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) in managing

the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute for Clinical Research (ICR), NIH worked
together with several stakeholders to develop a digital solution, CODIQ-My in

enhancing the way in managing home quarantined patients. This R&D (Research &
Development) was in collaboration with:

1. Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science & Technology (CREST)
2. Infront Consulting Malaysia

3. ProvenPac Sdn. Bhd.
4. Yuno Solutions Sdn. Bhd.

5. Biocare Group (M) Sdn. Bhd.
6. Respiree Pte. Ltd.

TECHNICAL REPORT

DIGITAL HEALTH RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

INSTITUTE FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH