What is Pneumonia?
Pneumonia is an infection in one's lungs caused by bacteria, virus, or fungi. Pneumonia causes one's lung tissue to swell and causes fluid or pus in one's lungs. It will cause difficulties with breathing and can cause a fever and cough with yellow, green, or bloody mucus. Pneumonia can affect both lungs, which is called bilateral or double Pneumonia.
Symptoms of Pneumonia
There are different symptoms of Pneumonia depending on the cause of it and the age of the patient. The root cause of Pneumonia can be a virus, bacteria, or fungi. Bacterial Pneumonia tends to be more sever than viral Pneumonia. Symptoms of bacterial Pneumonia can gradually or suddenly develop. Symptoms for bacterial Pneumonia include:
- High fever (105 F or 40.55 C)
- Cough with green, yellow, or bloody mucus
- Fatigue
- Rapid breathing or heart rate
- Shortness of breathe
- Sweating or chills
- Loss of appetite
- Bluish skins, lips, or nails
- Confusion mental state
- Chest pain or abdominal pain especially when deep breathing or coughing
Viral Pneumonia causes flu-like symptoms and is likely to resolve on its own. Symptoms of viral Pneumonia are likely to develop in several days. Some symptoms of viral Pneumonia are similar to those of bacterial Pneumonia, but there might be additional symptoms like:
- Dry cough
- Headache
- Muscle pain
- Extreme tiredness
Significance of Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a common disease with millions of people diagnosed each year in United States. Anyone can get Pneumonia, and Pneumonia can be life-threatening. Around 55000 people die in United States due to Pneumonia. In addition, Pneumonia is the most common cause of death in developing countries. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), more than 4 million premature deaths occur each year due to diseases related to household air pollution, including pneumonia. Annually, over 150 million individuals, especially children under 5 years old, contract pneumonia, lack of medical resources and personnel exacerbates the problem in these regions.
Using AI to resolve Pneumonia
AI can provide accurate and rapid diagnosis for populations that face Pneumonia, which is crucial for saving many lives. Also, the prompt diagnosis that an AI model provides ensures timely treatment access and saves valuable time and money, particularly for individuals already experiencing poverty. Pneumonia diagnosis using AI has shown more than satisfactory results in recent studies. By using advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques, AI algorithms can use Imagine analysis, pattern recognition to accurately assist healthcare professionals in diagnosis and treatment decisions. Image analysis is an analysis of chest X-rays or CT scans to detect lung infiltrates or consolidations. Pattern recognition is using patterns of medical data learned to identify characteristics of pneumonia