TRACKING PATHOGEN EXPOSURE
Approaches presented herein enable identifying an individual exposed to an illness carried by another individual by securely tracking interactions between individuals and using this information during a public health emergency to alert a public health authority and/or individuals who might be at risk of exposure to an illness. Specifically, a first mobile device of a user detects a second mobile device of another individual via low-energy radio frequency communication. The first device records contact data, including an identification of the second device, a distance between the devices, and a duration that the devices are within a specified distance from one another, and then encrypts and stores this contact data. In response to a public health emergency, the first device conducts an exposure analysis of the stored set of data using distance and duration thresholds to determine if the user came into contact with an individual carrying an illness.
1 . A method for identifying an individual exposed to an illness carried by another individual, the method comprising:
detecting, by a first mobile device, a second mobile device using a low-energy radio frequency communication;
recording a set of data comprising: an identification number of the second mobile device, a distance between the first mobile device and the second mobile device, and a duration that the second mobile device is within a specified distance to the first mobile device;
encrypting and storing the set of data in a data storage; and
in response to an identification of an individual carrying an illness, conducting an exposure analysis of the stored set of data, the exposure analysis based on criteria thresholds comprising: a pre-specified distance and a pre-specified duration.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a user associated with the first mobile device is the individual carrying the illness, the conducting an exposure analysis comprising:
decrypting the set of data;
searching the set of data to determine if the second mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the first user device; and
adding the second user to a list of individuals potentially exposed to the illness in the case that the second mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the first user device.
3 . The method of claim 2 , the method further comprising generating a notification to the second user of a potential exposure to the illness.
4 . The method of claim 2 , the method further comprising:
decrypting a set of data gathered by a mobile device of the second user on the list of individuals potentially exposed to the illness, the set of data comprising: an identification number of a contacted mobile device, a distance between the contacted mobile device and the mobile device of the second user, and a duration that the contacted mobile device is within a specified distance to the mobile device of the second user; and
conducting a second exposure analysis of the decrypted set of data of the second user.
5 . The method of claim 4 , the second exposure analysis comprising:
examining the decrypted set of data of the second user based on criteria thresholds comprising: a distance, a duration, and an incubation time;
determining if a third mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the mobile device of the second user; and
notifying the third user based on the examination.
6 . The method of claim 1 , the conducting an exposure analysis comprising:
receiving a notification comprising an identification number of a mobile device of the individual carrying the illness;
decrypting the set of data; and
determining if the identification number of the mobile device of the individual carrying the illness matches the identification number of the second mobile device and if contact between the first mobile device and the second mobile device is within the criteria thresholds.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of data is encrypted by a public key, and wherein a corresponding private key is held by an entity authorized to decrypt the set of data in response to the identification of the individual carrying the illness.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the data store is located in a cloud environment.
9 . A computer system for identifying an individual exposed to an illness carried by another individual, the computer system comprising:
a memory medium comprising program instructions;
a bus coupled to the memory medium; and
a processor, for executing the program instructions, coupled to a contact tracking tool via the bus that when executing the program instructions causes the system to:
detect, by a first mobile device, a second mobile device using a low-energy radio frequency communication;
record a set of data comprising: an identification number of the second mobile device, a distance between the first mobile device and the second mobile device, and a duration that the second mobile device is within a specified distance to the first mobile device;
encrypt and store the set of data in a data storage; and
in response to an identification of an individual carrying an illness, conduct an exposure analysis of the stored set of data, the exposure analysis based on criteria thresholds comprising: a pre-specified distance and a pre-specified duration.
10 . The computer system of claim 9 , wherein a user associated with the first mobile device is the individual carrying the illness, the instructions further causing the system to:
decrypt the set of data;
search the set of data to determine if the second mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the first user device; and
add the second user to a list of individuals potentially exposed to the illness in the case that the second mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the first user device.
11 . The computer system of claim 10 , the instructions further causing the system to generate a notification to the second user of a potential exposure to the illness.
12 . The computer system of claim 10 , the instructions further causing the system to:
decrypt a set of data gathered by a mobile device of the second user on the list of individuals potentially exposed to the illness, the set of data comprising: an identification number of a contacted mobile device, a distance between the contacted mobile device and the mobile device of the second user, and a duration that the contacted mobile device is within a specified distance to the mobile device of the second user; and
conduct a second exposure analysis of the decrypted set of data of the second user.
13 . The computer system of claim 12 , the instructions further causing the system to:
examine the decrypted set of data of the second user based on criteria thresholds comprising: a distance, a duration, and an incubation time;
determine if a third mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the mobile device of the second user; and
notify the third user based on the examination.
14 . The computer system of claim 9 , the instructions further causing the system to:
receive a notification comprising an identification number of a mobile device of the individual carrying the illness;
decrypt the set of data; and
determine if the identification number of the mobile device of the individual carrying the illness matches the identification number of the second mobile device and if contact between the first mobile device and the second mobile device is within the criteria thresholds.
15 . The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the set of data is encrypted by a public key, and wherein a corresponding private key is held by an entity authorized to decrypt the set of data in response to the identification of the individual carrying the illness.
16 . A computer program product for identifying an individual exposed to an illness carried by another individual, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage device, and program instructions stored on the computer readable storage device, to:
detect, by a first mobile device, a second mobile device using a low-energy radio frequency communication;
record a set of data comprising: an identification number of the second mobile device, a distance between the first mobile device and the second mobile device, and a duration that the second mobile device is within a specified distance to the first mobile device;
encrypt and store the set of data in a data storage; and
in response to an identification of an individual carrying an illness, conduct an exposure analysis of the stored set of data, the exposure analysis based on criteria thresholds comprising: a pre-specified distance and a pre-specified duration.
17 . The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein a user associated with the first mobile device is the individual carrying the illness, the computer readable storage device further comprising instructions to:
decrypt the set of data;
search the set of data to determine if the second mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the first user device; and
add the second user to a list of individuals potentially exposed to the illness in the case that the second mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the first user device.
18 . The computer program product of claim 17 , the computer readable storage device further comprising instructions to generate a notification to the second user of a potential exposure to the illness.
19 . The computer program product of claim 17 , the computer readable storage device further comprising instructions to:
decrypt a set of data gathered by a mobile device of the second user on the list of individuals potentially exposed to the illness, the set of data comprising: an identification number of a contacted mobile device, a distance between the contacted mobile device and the mobile device of the second user, and a duration that the contacted mobile device is within a specified distance to the mobile device of the second user;
conduct a second exposure analysis of the decrypted set of data of the second user;
examine the decrypted set of data of the second user based on criteria thresholds comprising: a distance, a duration, and an incubation time;
determine if a third mobile device was within the criteria thresholds of the mobile device of the second user; and
notify the third user based on the examination.
20 . The computer program product of claim 16 , the computer readable storage device further comprising instructions to:
receive a notification comprising an identification number of a mobile device of the individual carrying the illness;
decrypt the set of data; and
determine if the identification number of the mobile device of the individual carrying the illness matches the identification number of the second mobile device and if contact between the first mobile device and the second mobile device is within the criteria thresholds.