DevC, MD: Medical Solutions for Developing Countries

The use of SMS texting to relay medical information is becoming more prominant in developing countries. An interesting new organization which I found today is called FrontlineSMS:Medic.  The organization has built a network around SMS technology which is specfically targeted for developing countries.

For around USD $500.00 a laptop is placed in a central clinic and a number of cell phones are distributed to healthcare workers in the community.  The network has been built using a free, open source software package which allows workers to communicate back to the central clinic where supplies, tests, drugs, etc. can be ordered.

This organization again goes to show that technology which is commonplace can be used in a variety of innovative ways to help people across the world.

In one of the coolest applications I have seen so far, researchers at the University of Washington-St. Louis have developed a USB compatible ultrasound probe which is able to connect to Windows mobile smartphones.  The probe which seens to be on the order of $500 – $2,000 have the ability to connect to a PC or smartphone.  Even more exciting is the fact that Professor Richard have made the probe available and are in the process of creating an open-source development package.

These are exactly the potential applications which have the potential to change the medical imaging landscape.  I feel ultrasound is the tool of the future.  Small, portable scanners will be the used by specialists to general practitioners EVERYWHERE.  Therefore this technology has the potential to impact healthcare across the globe as the cost of ultrasound technology decreases. 

See the official press release here.