MobDoc: Mobile-based Medical Diagnostic Tool

A cost-effective and mobile-based medical diagnostic tool was prototyped in this invention. The tool is an expert system that captures patient’s condition through a rich multimedia-based interface. On the basis of the captured information, the tool suggests a diagnosis and treatment for the patient. The tool is primarily meant to be used by trained healthcare workers in nonemergency situations but patients and their family could also be trained at using it. In case of an emergency, medical data captured by the tool can be transferred to the hospital while the patient is still on the way, so that high-quality medical care is provided speedily upon patient’s arrival. Such a diagnostic tool can be especially useful in remote areas where the healthcare infrastructure is underdeveloped. This prototype was customized for maternal and child healthcare needs. However, it can be extended for addressing other healthcare subdomains as well – for example, geriatric care. An early version of the concept behind this work was previously presented at the national-level of the Microsoft Imagine Cup Contest where it won the People’s Choice Award. A patent on MobDoc is pending. If developed further, the key benefits of the tool would be: (1) medical help when and where needed (2) field triage to ensure timely emergency intervention (3) connecting patients and healthcare providers (4) supporting and training midwives and other community healthcare workers in assessing the patient (5) collection of information on emerging medical epidemic situations for regional response. One feature of the tool is that it can be adapted to different languages (e.g., English, Spanish, and Chinese) and cultures depending upon the geographical location. Hence, it helps in transcending some of the social, cultural, language, geographic, and technological barriers. Another unique feature of the tool is a multimedia-based training module for training the community healthcare workers in using the tool and providing help to the patients. The tool can also be useful for data collection and trend analysis. The software design is based upon platform-independent model and hence can be easily extended for different architectures and operating systems.