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Meditech: project key concepts

balearicdynamics

A note on the key concepts

The key concepts of the Meditech project moves around the creation of a multifunctional measuring system for health and disease support, especially in cases where it is difficult an immediate intervention. Really the most fictional approximate representation of this concept is just the tricorder user by Dr Leonard McCoy to diagnose almost anything (of any species the Enterprise meets during his travels) See more here: Medical tricorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This inspiring idea has already moved a not indifferent number of average and big players but - as for as what I saw until now proposals and ideas are oriented in directions that are not so much aligned with my personal vision of what science and technology will be.

Anyway, keeping apart the philosophical considerations I see that there are very few things already developed in this direction and few of these are today products. The other aspect - investigating in this apparently poor of interest niche of the biomedical devices applications - is that it seems that possible features are limited to a very generic range of diagnostic devices: heart-rate, temperature, blood pressure and few more.

The core of Meditech is to make a dedicated small and integrated application able to acquire data from more sophisticated probes, to reach a more complete diagnostic system that can be applied in conditions where a traditional diagnosis is slower, extremely difficult and in many cases impossible to make in a reasonable time.

[As some parts for the project diagnostic probes are under evaluation, this part is subject to future modifications and updates]

 

The second essential feature of Meditech

While a portable diagnostic first-aid tool should be used, not rarely in extreme conditions e.g. accidents, earthquakes, wild areas, etc. it is almost difficult that the injured(s) can count on a perfectly prepared medical crew. Here we are thinking in totally different places than an hospital. So the ability to connect potentially with any Android device to manage data and exchange information real-time with a medical support located remotely can be a definitive solution: The on-site group can count on a remote support, exchange live data and be helped and guided to operate in the better possible conditions despite de objective difficulties inducted by hostile factors impossible to control.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion to this short premise, what I mean is that the idea aims to be something more than a mere exercise of integration but I hope it will be possible to go many steps ahead. In the next few lines I explain the reasons that I consider more than sufficient to make this project a reality.

 

I have already explored the possibility to have some local (I live in the Ibiza island, Spain) structures available to test the prototype producing results to publish and promote it. I suppose - as for my experience over past projects - that when the prototype reach the testing phase it is not so difficult to find further sponsorship to make a first 10 units production. Then, last but not least very unit sold to a client (e.g. hospitals, environmental companies etc.) it will correspond a giveaway for free of another unit to a non-profit organisation (at the moment I plan to support Emergency, Save the children, Medicines sans frontieres).

  • in reply to Former Member

    Very good vision, Lucie!

     

    I will anser to your consideration by points, some details will be more clear further as I should also do instead of writing only image

     

    [Everything starts simple and becomes more feature rich over time, so designing a unit with relatively few diagnostic capabilities is a step in the right direction]


    So and so... The concept is absolutely correct as for what I see but the first real difficult is to make the architecture sufficiently open to be able to support a plan of improvements without radical changes in the original project.

     

    [Do you have any ideas yet on the specific biometrics you want to gather? Personally, getting accurate measurements from a small range of sensors would be preferable to incorporating as many sensors as possible but not having the time or resources to get them all to work or produce accurate results and feedback.]


    The answer is yes. I worked many years in several development teams (when I was already in Italy) studying biometrics, behavioural data collections and so on. By one side it is correct that the initial project will include only some of the real possibilities open to a multi-probe system, but in the same time it is also important to go beyond the biometric sensors only. These kind of sensors only gives a very specific point of view of the human health status but the important is to track, record etc. these information just disposing of a more complete diagnostic set of information, coming from non-invasive (it is a must) information.


    [My thoughts are whether the effects of one source of emission can change the bodies natural emission of a different source.]


    Without a too depth analysis (early to do this in this moment) of what we can intend as "non-invasive" the concept is that despite the source it should be already acquired by the official medicine as a non-damaging diagnostic method. An example is just the echography on pregnant womens.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    This is a future device that really deserves the investigation to bring into existence. Everything starts simple and becomes more feature rich over time, so designing a unit with relatively few diagnostic capabilities is a step in the right direction. Do you have any ideas yet on the specific biometrics you want to gather? Personally, getting accurate measurements from a small range of sensors would be preferable to incorporating as many sensors as possible but not having the time or resources to get them all to work or produce accurate results and feedback.

     

    You really do have a difficult path ahead of you, and I think research and testing is likely to be the key to this project.

     

    I've had one or two thoughts on how I'd try and approach the biometric sensing aspect. Many sensors come with some kind of emitter. Ie. IR distance finders emit infrared light and then sense it as it bounces back, the same goes for ultrasound, metal detectors etc.. My thoughts are whether the effects of one source of emission can change the bodies natural emission of a different source.

     

    For example, would sending ultrasound waves into living biological tissues cause any changes in the electromagnetic fields that it naturally produces, and could that change show a healthy reaction or a potential health problem.

     

    You could so do with a flir lepton sensor for visually monitoring temperatures image

     

    Best of luck

     

     

    Lucie

  • What a great idea. Cannot wait to see this developed.

    Clem