Diagnostic Software for Remote Areas

New software allows healthcare professionals, missionaries, and other caregivers in developing countries to access diagnostic information in remote locations, permitting a faster and more-accurate diagnosis of patients.

The InfoDx software stores information on hundreds of chronic and acute diseases in its database, as well as detailed emergency and preventive care information, bringing life-saving knowledge to users. The easy-to-use drop down menus and input screens provide an intuitive, efficient way for healthcare providers to input a patient's symptoms and examination results, which the software uses to suggest the most-likely diagnosis with the reported data in common. Once a clinician or other user chooses the most-appropriate diagnosis, InfoDx will provide the user with recommended treatment options.

InfoDX was developed by Robertson Research Institute (RRI, Saginaw, MI, USA), a not-for-profit organization. RRI will launch the InfoDx software in the Dominican Republic. The software operates on Tablet PC and Pocket PC platforms, using Microsoft's agile.NET technology. The information can be updated annually through the distribution of a compact disc or memory chip.

The developing world faces severe health problems, including inadequate or untimely access to medical information, lack of skilled or experienced caregivers, and textbook treatments that require resources unavailable in rural areas. According to RRI, the need for a better solution is obvious, when the statistics show that the physician-to-patient ratio in East Africa is 1 to 6,700, and 1 to 37,960 in Zimbabwe; that of the 15 million children who die annually, 98% live in the developing world; and that health-related websites have no value in remote locations with no online access.

"This kind of mobile, intelligent solution can help us move beyond the current limitations that we face, due primarily to lack of resources and training, and enable us to provide better care to our patients,” remarked Dr. Fabio Montesino, a doctor in the Dominican Republic.