UCC has developed a remote early warning system to detect COVID-19 symptoms in frontline medical staff at Cork University Hospital.
CREW, which has been developed with a software firm, remotely identifies those who may be developing a temperature and who shouldn't go to work.
The healthcare worker wears a digital thermometer sensor to measure body temperature, and an alarm is generated if it gets too high.
Researchers say the results of tests so far have been promising and the system could ultimately be rolled out across the healthcare system.
Commenting on the system, Professor Stephen Cusack - consultant in emergency medicine at CUH - said it's "good to know that efforts like this are being made to support our wellbeing 24 hours a day".
Image: UCCDirector of the Assert Centre at UCC, Professor Barry O'Reilly, said the hope is new system can help limit the spread of coronavirus among health workers.
He explained: "What we've done is linked up wearable technologies - where there's an under-the-arm temperature monitor, and wearable device that can monitor your heartrate, exercise and movement.
"By monitoring all that you can see if someone is developing a temperature, which we know is one of the first signs of COVID infection.
"Alert systems will be in place whereby if they get a raise or spike in their temperature when they're off duty, for example, that alerts the central processing unit in the hospital."
He said facilitators at the hospital can then divert the staff member away from the hospital to avoid any other members of staff being potentially infected by the virus.
According to UCC, the system kicks in when a temperature of greater than 37.2 degrees centigrade is recorded.
The sensor then collects a further measurement 30 minutes later, and if two "subsequent elevated readings" are recorded an alert is sent to the hospital.
The system has been developed by the College of Medicine and Health at UCC, Cork-based software consultancy firm 8 West, the ASSERT Centre and Tyndall National Institute at UCC.
