The mobile phone seems to capture all the features on to its tiny brain. Very soon, the mobile phone will be able to support medical diagnosis directly from home.
An intelligent bunch of engineers at the University of California at Berkeley have developed an interesting medium for transmitting medical images through a mobile phone. Boris Rubinsky, bioengineering professor at the University of California was the one who came up with this unique idea which allows a mobile phone to be a medical support in disguise. Proffesor Rubinsky’s idea is to turn a normal electromagnetic imaging machine into a portable scanner that can be connected to a cell phone and a computer, and this allows trained personnel to review the results and act accordingly.
This new technique will give the patients access to get themselves checked on a mobile basis. This will also eliminate the requirement of heavy equipment and transmit medical image easily through the internet.
“You go through India, anywhere, in the middle of the road, there’s someone with a cell phone. A friend calls me from the jungles of Costa Rica,” Rubinsky said. “I can see so many applications in which the cell phone becomes an integral part of a medical device. A cell phone can cut the cost of almost every [diagnostic] device.”
The invention is recognized as joint property of both Yissum, technology transfer company of the Hebrew University, and the University of California, Berkeley. Around three-quarters of the world’s population has no access to ultrasounds, X-rays, magnetic resonance images and other medical imaging technology, according to the World Health Organization, so this equipment and technology will shine as a ray of hope and give access to medical reach to the inaccessible areas. The medical and technological breakthrough is described in the latest online issue of Public Library of Science ONE.
TechShout.com
