Epistemix Software Modeling Offers Insights on Fan Attendance Variables on COVID-19 Infection Rate By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - 9:23 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The return of fans to sports events can't come soon enough for teams and leagues at all levels and Pittsburgh-based Epistemix hopes it can help make that day arrive safely. Having developed software at one of the four NIH Centers of Excellence for modelling Infectious Diseases in the United States, Epistemix can simulate the current epidemic in parallel with various scenarios to show where fans will come from, where they will stay, and more. The goal is to give league and team decision makers a better sense of when they can hold an event that brings in the desired percentage of fans.
With software modeling Epistemix can predict various attendance scenarios so that even organizers can understand the impact the event will have on infection rates.
The world has seen many companies start up in response to COVID-19 but Epistemix isn't one of them. The company has been involved with modeling pandemics for more than a decade and the software was born out of the University of Pittsburgh where Epistemix President Dr. Don Burke was Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health (he also led countless infectious disease research efforts for HIV/AIDS, Dengue, Zika, H1N1 to name a few, and vaccine development and clinical trial sites around the world while at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Johns Hopkins University).
In his role as Dean at Pitt, Dr. Burke created the Public Health Dynamics Laboratory and he invited John Grefenstette, a senior computer scientist at the Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence who he knew from building computer simulations for HIV/AIDS insights earlier, to work together on the FRED (Framework for Reconstructing Epidemiological Dynamics) modeling platform. That platform allows for conditions like behaviors, attitudes, economic status, and more impact infection rates.
John Cordier, Epistemix, CEO, says that software been used to improve the way public health can be practiced and was licensed to Epistemix to allow for it to have a greater impact.
A dashboard makes it easy to visualize where infections will spike relative to an event.
We have a digital twin of the entire United States, he says. Every person, every school, every workplace is in the system and Epistemix can work with a team, league, school or other entity to bring together attendee demographics with levels of immunity to figure out at what point different levels of capacity can be safely allowed.
We want to make going to a game as safe as going to the grocery store with your mask on, says Cordier.
Among the questions the system can answer are:
-How many fans can safely attend at a given time
-How the rollout of a vaccine change the attendance cap
-Risks for those in the local area and employees
-How things like social distancing in the venue will impact the size and location of fans.
Once a client has signed up (users of the software sign up for a year-long contract that includes a consultant to help run and re-run simulations) it takes about two weeks to begin running simulations and see how changing various parameters impacts the ability to hold an event.
Right now, our projections are within a 90% confidence interval, he says. Starting with the digital twin of the actual population, rather than just saying oh well, here are the numbers and we're going to run some algorithms to fit to the trajectory' is what makes us different.
Also making it different is the ability to explore the impacts of bars and restaurants opening around a stadium or arena as odds are those businesses will also return and will also have an impact on the spread of COVID-19 depending on the local immunity level.
We provide some certainty and data around the target date and conditions to bring back fans so an organization can focus their energy and efforts rather than spinning a bunch of plates and trying to figure out when the epidemic is going to be like this or that in and when it's safe to open.
North America Stories
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
03/06/2026
Liverpool FC and Wasabi Technologies have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, with Wasabi continuing as the club's official cloud storage...
03/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP as part of the relocation of its n...
03/06/2026
The Riedel Group has announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 201...
03/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the deployment of its intercom solutions at Itaka Arena ...
03/06/2026
Scott Coker has announced six senior executive appointments for his new global MMA promotion, which launched earlier this year with $60 million in financing. Ad...
03/06/2026
Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup 2026, has announced its digital and social media programming for the tournament, running Ju...
03/06/2026
The Bundesliga has announced the launch of Captain, an AI assistant built into t...
03/06/2026
Anthony James Partners (AJP) is serving as technology consultant for a moderniza...
03/06/2026
Audio-Technica has announced the recipients of its annual sales rep firm awards for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The awards were presented by Jim Schanz, Executive ...
Epistemix Software Modeling Offers Insights on Fan Attendance Variables on COVID-19 Infection Rate By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
