SYDNEY, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Scientists in Australia have developed a COVID-19 diagnostic tool, to help doctors identify the disease in CT scans of patients' lungs, with the potential to save thousands of lives.

Sydney-based start-up, DetectED-X, on Monday launched a free online platform called CovED, which teaches health workers to identify the presence of COVID-19 by adapting their existing diagnostic program formerly used to detect breast cancer.

DetectED-X Chief Executive and University of Sydney Medical Radiation Scientist, Professor Patrick Brennan told Xinhua that the tool can be used to evaluate the severity of the disease as well, a significant advantage over other diagnostic methods.

"They'll be able to say with more confidence that this patient has COVID-19, and the severity of the disease," Brennan said.

"Once clinicians get this information much more accurately and much more rapidly, they're able then to triage the patient and send the patient on to the best possible subsequent treatment."

By completing modules taking only a little over an hour, health professionals unfamiliar with lung radiology can be upskilled to identify the presence and severity of COVID-19, improving the efficacy of strained health services.

Brennan explained that what is difficult for untrained health practitioners in identifying COVID-19 from a lung scan, is that there is no one element which indicates the virus' presence -- meaning that an informed judgment is required.

"You've got to judge the image and bring several features together, when you see these several features together, you then say this is a high risk for COVID-19," he said.

Brennan encouraged health practitioners all over the world to access the DetectED-X website to use CovED, which he believes has the power to help save thousands of lives.

"It's an educational tool that's freely available anywhere in the world and it's using proven technology that is known to improve detection of disease," Brennan said.

University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr. Michael Spence described the project as part of the global response to the disease as recommended by world health experts.

"We are calling on healthcare professionals, and community members alike, to make sure everyone knows this crucial new diagnostic tool to ramp up COVID-19 responses is freely available," he said.