[OLPC library] OLPC Tricoder for field doctors

[Tom Boonsiri]

Henry, I'm glad that you're so enthusiastic about the possible applications,
but it would best if you kept such long discussions with mutiple hyperlinks
reserved for the wiki page. This could be considered borderline spam.

When you say "we" need a prototype for clinics in the field, who exactly is
"we"? Is "we" ready to finance the effort to develop a prototype? Since you
speak of suggestions for implementation, I assume you know first-hand what
kind of software and hardware effort is involved? Also, are you a field
doctor who knows of this established need?

I think this is exactly the reason why the OLPC Health group needs to make
the organization of an advisory board top priority. It is a necessary
filter. Before embarking on the health tech route, it's needless to say that
you'll need some legal counsel. Arjun had mentioned drafting a general
disclaimer for any of the biomedical products/projects that come out of the
initiative. The OLPC Health initiative is very noble, but you must prepare
for the worst.


> Message: 5
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:46:17 -0700
> From: "Brown, Henry, DoIT" <Henry.Brown at state.nm.us>
> Subject: [OLPC library] OLPC Tricoder for field doctors
> To: "Brown, Henry, DoIT" <Henry.Brown at state.nm.us>,     "Benjamin M.
>        Schwartz" <bmschwar at fas.harvard.edu>
> Cc: library at lists.laptop.org, devel at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID: <6FFE840122A2544C957E2A59474FFAD803B161AB at CEXMB2.nmes.lcl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> >From Ben Schwartz:
> "reading a microarray typically requires a high-resolution
> digital fluorescence microscope, which is very expensive"
>
>
> OLPC could be connected to USB chip for fast/cheap diagnostics.
>
> http://www.ece.ualberta.ca/~chrisb/research/lifesciencemain.htm<http://www.ece.ualberta.ca/%7Echrisb/research/lifesciencemain.htm>
> January 29, 2008
>
> Genetic testing Lab on a chip for less than $100 Canadian <
> http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/01/genetic-testing-lab-on-chip-for-100.html>
>
>
> Since a journal article was submitted to the Royal Society of Chemistry,
> the U of Alberta researchers have already made the processor and unit
> smaller and have brought the cost of building a portable unit for genetic
> testing down to about $100 Cdn. <
> http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/uoa-loa012808.php>  In
> addition, these systems are also portable and even faster (they take only
> minutes). Backhouse, Elliott and McMullin are now demonstrating prototypes
> of a USB key-like system that may ultimately be as inexpensive as standard
> USB memory keys that are in common use - only tens of dollars. It could help
> with Pandemic disease control and detecting and controlling tainted water
> supplies.
>
> This development fits in with my belief that there should be widespread
> inexpensive blood, biomarker and genetic tests <
> http://nextbigfuture.com/2007/11/proposal-for-widespread-monitoring-and_09.html>
>  to help catch disease early and to develop an understanding of biomarker
> changes to track disease and aging development. We can also create adaptive
> clinical trials to shorten the development and approval process for new
> medical procedures <
> http://nextbigfuture.com/2007/12/biomarkers-and-adaptive-clinical-trials.html
> >
>
>  <http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2223/2229764522_94fe125b9e.jpg?v=0>
> The device is now much smaller than size of a shoe-box (USB stick size)
> with the optics and supporting electronics filling the space around the
> microchip
>
>
>
>        Canadian scientists have succeeded in building the least expensive
> portable device for rapid genetic testing ever made <
> http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemScience/Volume/2008/02/Genetic_testing_shoe-box.asp>
> . The cost of carrying out a single genetic test currently varies from
> hundreds to thousands of pounds, and the wait for results can take weeks.
> Now a group led by Christopher Backhouse <
> http://www.ece.ualberta.ca/~chrisb/<http://www.ece.ualberta.ca/%7Echrisb/>>
> , University of Alberta, Edmonton, have developed a reusable microchip-based
> system that costs just 500 (pounds) to build, is small enough to be
> portable, and can be used for point-of-care medical testing.
>
>        To keep costs down, 'instead of using the very expensive confocal
> optics systems currently used in these types of devices we used a
> consumer-grade digital camera', Backhouse explained.
>
>        The device can be adapted for used in many different genetic tests.
> 'By making small changes to the system you could test for a person's
> predisposition to cancer, carry out pharmacogenetic tests for adverse drug
> reactions or even test for pathogens in a water supply,' said Backhouse.
>
>        The heart of the unit, the 'chip,' looks like a standard microscope
> slide etched with fine silver and gold lines. That microfabricated chip
> applies nano-biotechnologies within tiny volumes, sometimes working with
> only a few molecules of sample. Because of this highly integrated chip
> (containing microfluidics and microscale devices), the remainder of the
> system is inexpensive ($1,000) and fast.
>
>        There are many possible uses for such a portable genetic testing
> unit:
>
>        Backhouse notes that adverse drug reactions are a major problem in
> health care. By running a quick genetic test on a cancer patient, for
> example, doctors might pinpoint the type of cancer and determine the best
> drug and correct dosage for the individual.
>
>        Or health-care professionals can easily look for the genetic
> signature for a virus or E. coli - also making it useful for testing water
> quality.
>
>        "From a public health point of view, it would be wonderful during
> an epidemic to be able to do a quick test on a patient when they walk into
> an emergency room and be able to say, 'you have SARS, you need to go into
> that (isolation) room immediately.' "
>
>        A family doctor might determine a person's genetic predisposition
> to an illness during an office visit and advise the patient on preventative
> lifestyle changes.
>
>
> Henry Brown
> henry.brown at state.nm.us
> cell 795-3680
> office 505 827-2509
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Brown, Henry, DoIT
> Sent: Mon 1/28/2008 11:26 AM
> To: Benjamin M. Schwartz
> Subject: RE: [OLPC library] 'OLPC-Health' takes off !!- MATLAB for OLPC?
>
>
> Cheap CMOS CCD technology used in digital cameras may be able replace
> microscopes in the near future.
>
> http://www.genewave.com/documents/PS004-03_AmpliReaderW.pdf?PHPSESSID=1e778bdb95bb62afeb3343f27ff1b428
>
> We need a prototype for clinics in the field. How soon?
> There is little economic incentive to develop this technology in
> developing markets.
> However China and India are developing similar technology to cut health
> costs.
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070330092822.htm
>
> Henry Brown
> henry.brown at state.nm.us
> cell 795-3680
> office 505 827-2509
>
>
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