2 page Case Study - Posted 7/17/2009

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Nazounki Global Medical Network

Physicians Save Time, Receive Data Faster, and Improve Communication with Smartphones

Nazounki Global Medical Network helps patients lacking proper medical care in their own countries to receive treatment. Physicians in Europe needed quick access to patient medical image files from Africa, as well as a more convenient way to discuss patient treatment plans with colleagues. With Windows Mobile® and Waaves image compression software, Nazounki physicians save time, receive images anywhere, and can easily reach colleagues.

Business Needs

Time is of the essence for the patients cared for by the Nazounki Global Medical Network, who primarily live in Burkina Faso, Gabon, and other African countries. Often critically ill, these patients do not always have access to the treatment they need, or might require a second opinion.  Governments and private companies contract with Nazounki to transfer patients to France and other European locations, where they are treated by one of more than 400 specialists in Nazounki's network. Nazounki and the specialists plan all of the medical treatment, as well as take care of the travel and logistical arrangements. "We plan everything before we move the patient," says Dr. Sayave Gnoumou, CEO and President of the Nazounki Global Medical Network medical board.

Staff members need to collect a patient's medical information and have it sent to the treating physician before a patient is transferred; this includes X-rays, CT scans, MRI results, and other medical images. "We need all the details about the case to decide whether treatment can be performed here, by which specialist and at which hospital," says Dr. Gnoumou. When Nazounki was founded in 2001, the only way to transfer information was to use an air courier, which would take four or more days. "Patients lost a lot of time that way, and that was not acceptable in emergency cases," says Dr. Gnoumou.

Additionally, doctors are frequently out of the office both in Europe and in Africa. "Often when I call to discuss a patient’s case, the physician is at a meeting or elsewhere," says Dr. Gnoumou. "We can't wait for him to return to his office. With emergency cases, every minute matters."

The company therefore needed a more timely way to contact and send data to the treating physicians, but telephone lines in Africa were expensive and unreliable. Internet access was sporadic, and bandwidth often too low to send large image files. However, as cell phone services improved, Nazounki started considering a mobile device solution. It needed to be simple for physicians to manage. "We are doctors, not computer scientists," says Dr. Gnoumou. "We need something that is very convenient to use."

Solution

Nazounki partnered with CIRA, an image compression software publisher, to create a customized version of its solution for mobile phones. CIRA's WAAVES technology compresses medical image files by an average factor of 80, so files can be quickly transferred over a wireless network. The files are compressed in a diagnostic mode, preserving the geometrical characteristics of a medical image as well as the ability to perform "windowing," which allows changes to be made to the contrast and brightness of an image.

Using Windows Mobile, we can now do conference calls with doctors on both continents, wherever they are, and see diagnostic-quality images at the same time. Dr. Sayave Gnoumou CEO and President of the Medical Board, Nazounki Global Medical Network

Using a Windows Mobile phone, physicians can have a discussion at the same time as they are viewing a medical image, which is crucial for conferring about treatment. And because many physicians in France use the Windows® operating system on their desktop computers, they are already familiar with the Windows Mobile interface.

Nazounki purchased eleven ACER DX900 and X960 Smartphones with Windows Mobile 6.1, which have 2.8-inch VGA display screens. It also purchased nine phones for doctors in Africa. In addition, 22 doctors in Nazounki's network in France purchased their own Windows Mobile phones.

Benefits

With near real-time image transfer to physicians almost anywhere, patients and physicians save a great deal of time, resulting in faster and more effective patient treatment. The innovative use of Windows Mobile has helped improve medical services to patients, and has led to an expansion of Nazounki's network.

Near real-time data saves time, speeds up treatment decisions. Instead of waiting four days for an air courier, physicians receive diagnostic-quality medical images in minutes. “When an image comes through on my phone, all I need to do is open it and review it,” says Dr. Gnoumou. “I now make treatment decisions using my Windows Mobile phone, such as scheduling an intervention operation. And when we're trying to reach a specialist who is out of the office, we often save five or six hours because he doesn't have to come back to the office to look at his computer to give an opinion."

Nazounki staff can also quickly collect medical information before a patient is transferred. This helps physicians make on-the-spot decisions about what would be most helpful regarding treatment options, a step that helps prevent unnecessary travel and expenses. "For instance, last week an African man with a bleeding brain was being considered for transfer to France," says Dr. Gnoumou. "When I got the images on my phone, the neurosurgeon and I saw right away that taking a plane would be disastrous for this patient. We adapted a treatment plan that would be carried out in the patient’s native country.”

Improved communication for physicians. Physicians are now easier to reach for treatment discussions, whether they are in the hospital, in an airport, or at home. "Using Windows Mobile, we can now do conference calls with doctors on both continents, wherever they are, and see diagnostic-quality images at the same time," says Dr. Gnoumou.

Use of mobile solution helps expand network. Since implementing a Windows Mobile solution, Nazounki has added physicians to its network in Europe every year, and attracted the attention of physicians in other countries. "Physicians see how we are using Windows Mobile, and they are saying, 'we need your system,’" says Dr. Gnoumou. As a result of this interest, Nazounki opened a new office in Thailand in 2009.