A deep neural network based context-aware smart epidemic surveillance in smart cities

Abstract

PurposeEpidemics not only affect the public health but also are a threat to a nation's growth and economy as well. Early prediction of epidemic can be beneficial to take preventive measures and to reduce the impact of epidemic in an area.Design/methodology/approachA deep neural network (DNN) based context aware smart epidemic system has been proposed to prevent and monitor epidemic spread in a geographical area. Various neural networks (NNs) have been used: LSTM, RNN, BPNN to detect the level of disease, direction of spread of disease in a geographical area and marking the high-risk areas. Multiple DNNs collect and process various data points and these DNNs are decided based on type of data points. Output of one DNN is used by another DNN to reach to final prediction.FindingsThe experimental evaluation of the proposed framework achieved the accuracy of 87% for the synthetic dataset generated for Zika epidemic in Brazil in 2016.Originality/valueThe proposed framework is designed in a way that every data point is carefully processed and contributes to the final decision. These multiple DNNs will act as a single DNN for the end user.