Mobiles Go Medical

More and more research is being carried out, investigating the impact mobile phones have on health, whether it’s the dangers of using handsets or how phones can help the medical profession. Last month we took a look at new mobile phone technology that was helping medical centres deliver effective treatment to injured people in rural areas. Now it appears a similar technique is being enforced in America to help medical staff deliver a home-based service.

Patients, who have chronic wounds, or have difficulties seeking medical help can now receive treatment in their homes by experienced doctors who get remote guidance from certified specialists miles away. Wound Technology Network is using wireless services to provide instant access and communication between field doctors and wound specialists. The field doctors will be given smart powered devices to contact the specialists and receive guidance with diagnosis and prescriptions.

Clinical staff across South Florida and Southern California will get HTC FUZE devices, from which they can access an application which creates video conferencing tools for mobile devices and PC’s. This will enable them to interact in real time with wound specialists back at the Wound Tech Network’s tele-health centre. From there medical professionals can assist in assessing patient’s wounds and then help provide treatment. The devices will also be capable of capturing high quality images so doctors can capture images of a wound and send them back to the centre for closer inspection.

Until now, immobile patients have had to rely on transport services for access to treatment, which often meant delayed diagnosis, prolonged hospital visits and high treatment costs. Doctors are hoping the Smart device procedure will help cut down on unnecessary waste.