Remote Sensing and Human Health: New Sensors and New Opportunities

TLDR

Remote sensing has long been used to map Earth surface features, and increasingly for health surveillance, especially of vector‑borne diseases, primarily using data from Landsat, the French Système Pour l'Observation de la Terre, and NOAA’s AVHRR. This article demonstrates how remotely sensed data have been applied to health and evaluates upcoming satellite systems that could detect and map environmental variables linked to vector‑borne and other diseases. By leveraging enhanced computing power and GIS spatial modeling, remote sensing can be translated from research into operational disease surveillance and control.

Abstract

Since the launch of Landsat-1 28 years ago, remotely sensed data have been used to map features on the earth's surface. An increasing number of health studies have used remotely sensed data for monitoring, surveillance, or risk mapping, particularly of vector-borne diseases. Nearly all studies used data from Landsat, the French Système Pour l'Observation de la Terre, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. New sensor systems are in orbit, or soon to be launched, whose data may prove useful for characterizing and monitoring the spatial and temporal patterns of infectious diseases. Increased computing power and spatial modeling capabilities of geographic information systems could extend the use of remote sensing beyond the research community into operational disease surveillance and control. This article illustrates how remotely sensed data have been used in health applications and assesses earth-observing satellites that could detect and map environmental variables related to the distribution of vector-borne and other diseases.