Mobile Point-of-Care Monitors and Diagnostic Device Design (2014)

Point-of-care devices are becoming prominent in various fields of medicine. Policy makers have a high interest in introducing mobile point-of-care monitoring devices as they promise to be more cost effective and give access to monitoring technology in areas where they were previously not available. Examples include handheld ultrasound monitors and similar devices that fit into a pocket. Global shortages of skilled medical personnel and increasing healthcare costs present a challenge to health systems around the world. Particularly in remote and resource-poor areas, long travel distances to hospitals and lengthy laboratory turnaround times delay diagnosis and treatment of severe infectious and non-infectious diseases. Mobile systems that allow for monitoring of vital signs and diagnosis of diseases at the point of care can provide effective means of addressing diagnostics and treatment challenges. Diagnostics at the point of care is considered to be a disruptive technology that will change how health care is delivered in the future.

This book connects mobile health and point-of-care technology. It gives an overview of available technologies for mobile point-of-care systems. It also offers insights on state-of-the-art technology, research, and methods for designing personal diagnostic and ambulatory healthcare devices. Topics include:

• Portable diagnostics devices and sensors, including mobile-phone-based health systems
• Lab-on-chip systems
• Energy and power efficient solutions for mobile point-of-care monitors
• Computer vision and signal processing for real-time diagnostics
• Design of user interfaces for lay healthcare providers and home users
• Quality control and regulatory approval challenges related to point-of-care devices

The book covers sensors and systems (instrumentation), software (information processing), and design, integration, and regulation (implementation).

Walter Karlen received his M.Sc in micro-engineering and Ph.D in computer, communication, and information sciences from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland. Dr. Karlen currently holds a joint post-doctoral fellowship with the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and the Electrical and Computer Engineering in Medicine Research Group at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where he works on mobile phone implementations of biomedical sensors for global health applications.