Cost effective remote medical diagnostics runs on Android

A new mobile application that enables easy diagnosis of patients in remote areas has been developed to run on Android. The software called Moca integrates the Android based medical diagnosis application with the open source OpenMRS medical records database system.

An initial trial is set to happen in the Philippines, home of the project’s lead Dr. Leo Celi, where the device promises to be a boon to that country’s remote areas where there is a lack of doctors.

The project was started with a mission to provide flexible and scalable IT architecture to empower social entrepreneurs and NGOs to scale rural health diagnosis using mobile information and communication technologies.

Built on the Android platform, Moca allows nurses to transfer not just text, but also media such as images remotely. For example, the diagnosis of dermatologic conditions relies heavily on the physical appearance of the skin lesion. Real-time transmission of a good image of the lesion (rather than verbal description provided by a less trained healthcare worker) can bring dermatology expertise to a rural area.

It allows for the easy diagnosis of several ailments like:

• Cervical cancer. A leading cause of death from cancer among women in resource-poor countries.
• Childhood Sickness Diagnostics. Each year, almost 7 million children under the age of five die due to conditions that could have been prevented by low-cost treatments.
• Skin Condition Diagnosis. The diagnosis of dermatologic conditions relies heavily on the physical appearance of the skin lesion.
• Follow-up after Surgery. Patients are required to see their surgeon for the weeks following surgery to make sure the surgical wound is healing without infection. Patients who live in remote areas usually forego these follow-ups because of the hassle involved in traveling to the hospital.
• Emergency Response like evaluation of Motor Vehicular Crash Scenes

Moca is uniquely capable in several applications. Some of the key benefits that Moca provides are:

On-the-spot Screening - On-the-spot interpretation of test results is key in order to avoid patients being lost to lack of follow-up. Moca makes this possible by transmitting the results to a physician who can interpret the results while the patient is still with the nurse.

Specialty Clinic Follow-up – This approach can address the very limited reach of specialists who are often confined within a few large cities in developing countries. Follow-up of chronic conditions that may require technology not available in remote areas will be made easier with Moca and remote real-time access to specialists.