Medicine has and will always be an evolving discipline as new medical breakthroughs in the treatment of disease are made and as innovative technologies emerge. One of the fastest growing areas of development is telemedicine for the remote assistance of people and communities who would otherwise lack healthcare, with mHealth or mobile health being an important player in this field.
Something as simple and as increasingly widely available as a smartphone can be used, together with a developed application, to provide low-cost services and access to specialist opinion. A good example of this is currently being researched by a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where a portable eye examination kit known as Peek is being produced. The system consists of a mobile app and clip-on hardware that transform a smartphone into a tool that can check glasses prescription, diagnose cataracts and even examine the back of the eye for disease. Most importantly, it is a tool that can be used by anyone with just a minimal period of training.
The device is currently being tested on 5000 people in Kenya to see what results it produces in comparison to hospital equipment, and if effective, could potentially be a transforming tool for the prevention of blindness in remote regions and low-income countries.
Read more by following this LINK or by watching the BBC World News report below:
Something as simple and as increasingly widely available as a smartphone can be used, together with a developed application, to provide low-cost services and access to specialist opinion. A good example of this is currently being researched by a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where a portable eye examination kit known as Peek is being produced. The system consists of a mobile app and clip-on hardware that transform a smartphone into a tool that can check glasses prescription, diagnose cataracts and even examine the back of the eye for disease. Most importantly, it is a tool that can be used by anyone with just a minimal period of training.
The device is currently being tested on 5000 people in Kenya to see what results it produces in comparison to hospital equipment, and if effective, could potentially be a transforming tool for the prevention of blindness in remote regions and low-income countries.
Read more by following this LINK or by watching the BBC World News report below:
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