Mumbai, Feb 04: In a boost to rural healthcare,
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed a low-cost,
portable Tele-ECG machine that is controlled by a mobile phone
via bluetooth connection.
"Many a times, delay in transporting the patient from
village to the nearest city may prove fatal. As the mobile
phones are becoming more and more affordable, this new product
is ideally suited for rural health and personal monitoring,"
BARC Director S Banerjee said today.
"There is a tremendous prospects for rural healthcare
and this portable Tele-ECG can be used for a quick check-up
without making the patient travel and waste the golden hour in
the case of a cardiac attack and begin the treatment
immediately," he said, inaugurating a day-long meet on
'Applications of Tele-ECG in Rural Health' here.
Doctors and paramedical personnel or even some of the
patient's relatives can be trained on the use of the machine
so that the ECG signals and analysis could be sent to the
doctor via mobile to get expert opinion as well as line of
treatment, he said.
Typically, indigestion and cardiac problems show
similar symptoms and therefore, a quick check up with this
portable machine will give the doctor a chance to rule out one
of them, Banerjee explained.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, February 04, 2009, 00:00