By Mohan Uttarwar
Following the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti in January 2010, a global relief effort was mobilized to help survivors. In April, I had the chance to visit Haiti and see first-hand the remarkable humanitarian work being done to enhance patient care by some of the first responders, including Project Medishare and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
I have traveled extensively within India and have witnessed poverty in the region. I thought I would be prepared for my visit to Haiti, but the country was far worse than I could ever imagine. Despite the harsh conditions, I was amazed at the level of medicine being practiced in field tents in the capital, Port-Au-Prince. Within 18 hours after the earthquake struck Haiti, the University of Miami mobilized a trauma team to assist in relief efforts. Partnering with Project Medishare, the University of Miami soon opened a 240-bed tent hospital that had a rotating staff of more than 200 volunteers.
Today, months after the earthquake, the University of Miami and Project Medishare continue to provide essential support to help the survival and recovery of the Haitian people. An all volunteer group of physicians, nurses and logistics staff work around the clock in challenging conditions. It is crucial for the ground staff to be able to coordinate care with remote specialists to collaborate on difficult cases.
BioImagene's goal in Haiti was to install a digital pathology system to facilitate telemedicine and provide the field hospital access to the full range of pathology expertise at the University of Miami. Carrying out this task was a challenge because the conditions in Haiti are unlike any installation BioImagene has experienced. Our system, which is designed for a stable hospital and lab setting, would need to function in a tent hospital with limited system requirements.
Our installation team made it work, and we were able to utilize Cisco's satellite internet system to connect with the Miller School of Medicine in Miami. The Miller School of Medicine created a user group on PathXchange pathology portal. Physicians and volunteers in Haiti were able to scan slides of blood, urine and tissue samples of Haitian patients, upload the images on PathXchange and share them with pathologists at the Miller School. PathXchange, dubbed a "Facebook for pathologists," facilitated this collaboration for consultations, remote reads, second opinions and, in some cases, primary diagnosis.
As efforts in Haiti shift to long-term recovery and rebuilding, pathologists there will have access to expertise from around the world that they previously did not have. It is incredible and extremely gratifying to see how technology can be a bridge between the have's and the have not's. The experience was humbling, to say the least.
Mohan Uttarwar is CSO, Co-founder of BioImagene Inc and President of PathXchange.org
This article has been featured by Advance for Administrators of the Laboratory magazine, June edition.
http://laboratory-manager.advanceweb.com/Web-Extras/Online-Extras/High-Tech-in-the-Tent.aspx