Uganda’s multi-level health system served as the location for this proof-of-concept test. Using a traditional light microscope connected to a Java-enabled mobile phone with built-in camera, specially designed software for data transfer and labeling, and anonymous laboratory samples, researchers were able to capture interpretable images and video at different resolutions. Some phones worked better than others for this, and file size limited the number of images that can be sent at one time.

Another valuable aspect of this study is that it “used a bottom-up approach.”

End users and stakeholders were included in the design process and the initial testing of the system, increasing the chance of our concept to meaningfully improve laboratory services and support health workers and practitioners in their diagnosis and training.

Members of remote clinics expressed even expressed an interest in sharing slides between clinics for knowledge sharing and education. And health sciences students could benefit from having web access to multiple examples of similar conditions instead of a relative few in a textbook.

Reference:

Tuijn, C. J., B. J. Hoefman, et al. (2011). “Data and Image Transfer Using Mobile Phones to Strengthen Microscopy-Based Diagnostic Services in Low and Middle Income Country Laboratories.” PLoS ONE 6(12): e28348.

After developing a prototype, the team conducted a clinical trial at a hospital in South Africa using two different mobile phones: a Nokia 3110 Classic and an iPhone 3G, and compared them against the £400 3M Littmann Electronic Stethoscope.

They collected phonocardiograms from 150 volunteers with a range of cardiac conditions using the Littmann, the iPhone, and the Nokia 3100 Classic. The trial showed that the Nokia actually out-performed the Littmann in estimating heart rate, although it had to discard more low signal quality recordings. (from the Oxford blog)

The team is now working on an Android application to record and process the heart sound recordings.

Have any of our readers worked in poor countries where medical services is minimal or lacking completely? Would such a device be helpful based on your experience? Tell us about it!