The Problem of Lacking Healthcare Infrastructure
There are many challenges facing developing nations that can oftentimes be symptomatic of each other. When everything is so interconnected it becomes clear how communities can either quickly degenerate or remain stagnant and never progress for the better when even just one thing goes wrong. Health is an ideal example of this. It affects all aspects of life and can mean the difference between being able to provide for yourself and your family or not. With growing problems of highly communicable diseases, such as Tuberculosis, it is obvious that many places lack the necessary infrastructure to address it. This infrastructure not only makes it possible to properly treat these diseases but diagnose and screen for them as well.
Addressing Tuberculosis Around the World
Tuberculosis is often called the “forgotten disease” because many believed that it had been contained or even eliminated decades ago. However, this highly infectious respiratory disease has experienced a global resurgence fueled by a lack of awareness and reduced vigilance, an increase in HIV/AIDS infections, and insufficient public health investments in the tools needed to diagnose and treat it. Each year, TB sickens more than 9 million people and causes nearly 2 million deaths. It is prevalent in every region of the world, easily crossing borders as populations become increasingly more mobile. Screening populations for the presence of TB using tools such as chest X-ray is critical to halting the spread of the disease. Unfortunately, screening opportunities are very limited around the world for various reasons: diagnostic tools require specialized facilities, equipment and personnel—all of which are in short supply. Remi-d was created to help alleviate some of this burden for communities around the world.
Introducing Remi-d by WHITIA
Remi-d is a self-contained, digital chest X-ray system that provides screening capabilities in areas with limited resources. This device makes it possible to rapidly deploy the equipment and medical personnel needed to conduct chest X-ray screenings in less than one day. It is designed to overcome many of the common hurdles to deploying X‐ray equipment in these areas and to provide additional capabilities that can help to improve the quality and delivery of healthcare. Some of the hurdles Remi-d addresses include:
Hurdles to Screening and the Remedy
Lack of Appropriate X-ray Facilities
The CXR unit comes in a self-contained, lead lined booth designed to fit into an existing room without the need for renovations making it possible to convert virtually any room into an X-ray room. Lack of Skilled X-ray Technologists
Remi-d’s design enables it to be remotely operated by a skilled X-ray technologist. The technologist can see and communicate with the patient via a live two-way video connection, explain the procedure and properly position the patient. A centrally located technologist can operate multiple units, leveraging the skills of a single technologist across multiple facilities and reducing staffing costs. Lack of RadiologistsDigital images can be transmitted to remotely located radiologists for interpretation and diagnosis eliminating the need to have a radiologist on site.
Unreliable Power
The X-ray unit and additional electronic equipment can be powered using Remi-d’s alternative power sources in the event of unstable power outages.
Extra Benefits
In addition to the design features mentioned, Remi‐d also offers clinics various benefits that help support sustainability and overall effectiveness of the system. These include:
Health data collection, storage and sharingThe X-ray images and diagnoses can be stored and tracked, improving data collection on the incidence and prevalence of TB. Additionally, with Remi-d, medical facilities can create and maintain patient health records which can be used to monitor patient progress and to share patient information among clinicians. Quality ControlLeveraging X-ray technologists and radiologists across multiple facilities enables the ability to standardize the imaging process and diagnosis. This in turn makes it possible to apply standards designed to ensure that quality images of diagnostic value are produced consistently and that there is consistency in the way in which the disease is diagnosed. X-ray services when and where they are neededWhile Remi-d is not designed to be mobile, it is portable which means that the system can be moved to another location if demand for screenings decrease in one area and increase in another.Screening for more than just TBChest X-rays account for more than 50% of all X-rays taken globally which means that Remi-d can be used to screen for many other conditions including black lung diseases and pneumonia.
By investing in healthcare infrastructure, we are making it possible to drastically change many lives around the world. Remi-d serves as a virtual TB clinic in a box that makes possible what has been very difficult to do for so long, screen for tuberculosis in order to halt the spread of it.
If you would like to schedule a demo or receive additional information on Remi-d, please contact us here.
*NOTE: Remi-d has not yet been submitted for approval to the FDA. There are significant risks and uncertainties in product research and development. Scientific and regulatory hurdles may cause the project to be discontinued or delayed or fail to reach the market. There can be no guarantee that Remi-d will receive regulatory approval, or that it will be commercially successful.