Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Bone and Joint Reconstruction Research Center, Department of Orthopedics, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
BMC Res Notes. 2024 Aug 20;17(1):229. doi: 10.1186/s13104-024-06892-8.
Digital technologies have improved the performance of surveillance systems through early detection of outbreaks and epidemic control. The aim of this study is to introduce an outbreak detection web application called OBDETECTOR (Outbreak Detector), which as a professional web application has the ability to process weekly or daily reported data from disease surveillance systems and facilitates the early detection of disease outbreaks.
OBDETECTOR generates a histogram that exhibits the trend of infection within a time range selected by the user. The output comprises red triangles and plus signs, where the former denotes outbreak days determined by the algorithm applied to the data, and the latter represents days identified as outbreaks by the researcher. The graph also displays threshold values and its symbols enable researchers to compute evaluation criteria for outbreak detection algorithms, including sensitivity and specificity. OBDETECTOR allows users to modify algorithm parameters based on their research objectives immediately after loading data. The implementation of automatic web applications results in immediate reporting, precise analysis, and prompt alert notification. Moreover, Public Health authorities and other stakeholders of surveillance can benefit from the widespread accessibility and user-friendliness of these tools, enhancing their knowledge and skills for better engagement in surveillance programs.
数字技术通过早期发现疫情和控制疫情提高了监测系统的性能。本研究旨在介绍一种名为 OBDETECTOR（疫情探测器）的疫情检测网络应用程序，它作为一个专业的网络应用程序，能够处理疾病监测系统每周或每日报告的数据，并有助于及早发现疫情爆发。
OBDETECTOR 生成一个直方图，展示用户所选时间范围内的感染趋势。输出包括红色三角形和加号，前者表示算法应用于数据确定的爆发日，后者表示研究人员确定的爆发日。该图还显示了阈值及其符号，使研究人员能够计算疫情检测算法的评估标准，包括敏感性和特异性。OBDETECTOR 允许用户在加载数据后立即根据研究目标修改算法参数。自动网络应用程序的实现可实现即时报告、精确分析和及时警报通知。此外，公共卫生当局和其他监测利益相关者可以从这些工具的广泛可及性和用户友好性中受益，提高他们的知识和技能，以更好地参与监测计划。
