Satellite Technology Monitors HIV Diagnostic Equipment

A satellite feedback system monitors and maintains diagnostic equipment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS in developing countries.

At the heart of the system is the portable equipment PointCare (Marlborough, MA, USA) NOW, which can do the complete regular monitoring of CD4 cell counts in adults, as well as CD4 percent testing, critical when treating young children. Such testing, combined with the complete hematology profile that the NOW system provides, is essential to adjust effectively not only HIV antiretroviral therapy, but also holistic healthcare for the needs of each patient.

PointCare NOW, which is easy to use and can be run off a battery and other alternate types of power, yields, in less than eight minutes, a report on T-cell depletion, anemia, and abnormal white cell differentials.

With the PointCare satellite modem technology, when the NOW system closes down at clinics at the end of the day, the software on the NOW will collect all data on the operations for that day and upload to the modem. The information collected will be transmitted immediately via satellite to a server and entered into the ongoing profile of each NOW system.

The PointCare Technologies invented the satellite technology, which was introduced at the Corporate Council on Africa conference in Washington DC, USA on November 2008. Petra Krauledat, CEO of PointCare Technologies said, "We can essentially bring the laboratory to HIV/AIDS patients anywhere and deliver the complete monitoring they need to keep their medication on the right track. But as anyone who has worked with technology in developing countries knows, it is one thing to get the equipment out there, but another to maintain it. Now we can do that quite easily."

PointCare Technologies develops, manufactures, and markets medical diagnostic products. PointCare brings diagnostic capabilities to resource-limited urban and rural regions, enabling immediate identification and treatment of infectious diseases by healthcare professionals.

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