Mobile Healthcare Imaging Solution for Patients in Rural Kenya

In Kenya less than 200 radiologists serve a population of 43 million. X-Ray equipment and facilities are scarce, and are located in the urban centers such as Nairobi, the capital city, leaving the rural population without access to medical imaging. The main focus of the project is chest X-Rays for detecting Tuberculosis (TB) and pulmonary infections such as pneumonia, and for follow-up exams.

In 2010 a radiologist, Marc Kohli, MD, from the Indiana University School of Medicine (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA), designed and built a mobile X-Ray truck with a digital Computed Radiography (CR) reader, and an X-Ray generator. In addition, Dr. Kohli developed a web-based reporting tool to enabling radiologists on the truck to copy radiographs to a Compact Disc (CD). The mobile team included a driver, a radiographer, and a radiologist and made its trial run in September 2013.

At the end of a day of imaging in a rural community the CD is taken to a local clinic connectted to an open-source Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) on a central server at the Moi University School of Medicine (Eldoret, Kenya). The images can then be uploaded into the patient's Electronic Medical Record (EMR).

Future plans are focused on workflow improvements, such as an algorithm to screen X-Rays after they are acquired on the truck, and provide local clinical support. Another goal is using mobile broadband Internet for sharing images. Ultimately the development team hopes to expand the prototype to other developing countries.

Related Links:
Indiana University School of Medicine
Moi University School of Medicine and Moi Teaching