Healthcare

We are currently working on several projects relating to healthcare in emerging regions.

Low-Cost WiFi Networks for Local Broadband Telemedicine

Thousands of residents of rural villages in India are receiving quality eye care thanks to a collaborative effort between an Indian hospital network and the researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Intel Corporation who have developed a new technology for low-cost rural connectivity. Read more... More details on the deployment are available on the Aravind page. Contact: Sonesh Surana

Mobile Phones as a Platform for Health-Related Applications

Contact: Sonesh Surana

Remote Medical Consultation

One of the significant barriers to health outcomes in developing countries is the lack of access to medical expertise, a problem exacerbated by brain drain and made even more apparent in the shortage of specialists. Doctors practicing in developing countries often feel professionally isolated, with little access to often expensive current medical research, and little access to colleagues with whom to exchange ideas. We propose a system that facilitates general practitioner contact with specialists (in Ghana and abroad) for quick consultations about cases requiring additional expertise. After finding appropriate specialists, doctors would be able to communicate by phone, email, or through our web based system, which will help them manage anonymized patient data and doctor contacts. Goals Eliminate unnecessary referrals (and travel) by enabling remote consultation between general practicioners and specialists Empower Ghanaian doctors to better leverage existing communication infrastructure to collaborate with colleagues in Accra or those who have moved abroad Alleviate strain on too few specialists by leveraging Ghanaian diaspora Key Features Case Management: facilitating simple creation and access of rich patient cases Multi-modal and Asynchronous Communication: enabling communication through phone, e-mail, web, or video-conferencing as appropriate to the referral case, usable under a variety of network constraints, without dependence on bi-directional or sustained end-to-end connectivity Social Networking: encouraging communication between rural and urban doctors, as well as between doctors in Ghana and doctors abroad

Contact: Melissa Ho