Drew Cogbill | Thesis Blog

works in progress.

Archive for the ‘india’ tag

Mobile Phone Telemedicine Interview

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In many places, such India, Bangladesh, and where I am in Belize, there aren’t enough doctors for all of the patients that need care, especially in rural areas.  MobileActive.org talked with Krishnan Ganapathy about telemedicine via mobile phone networks.

Currently, a paramedic or nurse must take the readings, but a device called mDoc, “specialized mobile phone with lots of added features“, is in the works which will allow laypeople to easily and noninvasive take readings which can be transmitted to doctors.

We realized that in India it is possible to transfer an ECG and to listen to heartbeats via a stethoscope with the doctor and the patient several thousand miles away from each other using purely wireless technology on mobile phones. The greatest part of this is that villages in India which still do not have a landline, which still do not have a wired phone, are directly going into the 21st century by using wireless technology.

I would like every single human being on this planet to know within three years from now that it is possible to get health care through a mobile phone…. People will get interested, a business case will develop, and it will become a reality.

Written by drewcogbill

July 31st, 2008 at 12:46 pm

The Question Box

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The Question Box is a telephone intercom system that people can use to call an operator who can look things up for the user on the internet.  It’s a free service available in India, and ultimately people will be able to call in to the system from their mobile phones.

This is great as it expands the idea of what connection to the internet is.  To access the system and the internet, you only need to know how to use a mobile phone or, even more simply, how to push a button.  To use the Question Box would require a certain amount of trust of the person on the other end of the line.  Question Box is supported built by Open Mind, a non-prof, so I wonder how the system is financially supported.

via Appfrica

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July 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 pm

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“Highly Qualified Small Print”

via Jan Chipchase

Written by drewcogbill

July 10th, 2008 at 4:13 pm

Posted in Context and Domains, Research

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From Design and the Elastic Mind

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Amida Simputer is a simple handheld computer for use in developing regions.  It has multiple UI options, takes handwriting input, and is multilingual.

Lab-on-a-card is diagnostic device for use by health care workers with little training.  It quickly tests for enteric infection.  They’re also working on cards to test for sexually transmitted diseases and fever illnesses.

Text free user interfaces aims to make computer usage accessible for those who are non-literate (from Microsoft India, see previous post).

Written by drewcogbill

June 26th, 2008 at 10:40 am