Cell Phone-Enabled Diagnostics Ideal for Developing Countries

Emerging countries and remote rural areas that want to quickly establish quality healthcare systems, should consider utilizing cell phone-enabled diagnostics products.

The products that are increasingly cell phone-enabled include diabetes smart phones and apps for self-testing and glucose management; cell phones for digital microbiology, hematology, and histology, to send images for consultation; and cell phone-enabled rapid immunoassays focusing on infectious diseases.

There are already 45 companies and foundations that are significantly involved in linking in vitro diagnostics (IVD) products to cellular technology to provide fast results and, sometimes even to provide remote consultations.

Healthcare market research publisher, Kalorama Information (Rockville, MD, USA), in a new report, claimed that the recent trend of cell phone-enabled diagnostics products are arriving just in time for an IVD industry that is looking to earn its fastest revenue growth from emerging nations.

Roche’s (Basel, Switzerland) Accu-Chek Glucose Buddy iPhone app and Arkray’s (Kyoto, Japan) Smart e-SMBG Android app are two examples of cell phone-enabled diagnostics in the glucose field. Tests for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and other infectious diseases, which are badly needed for world health, are being developed by universities and companies.

Lack of infrastructure could actually be an advantage for these products in rural areas of the developed world or in the developing world. There is only limited healthcare delivery in rural areas and emerging markets, therefore agencies are ready to utilize the most advanced technologies, which allow point-of-care (POC) devices to produce quantitative lab-quality test results that can be transferred automatically to an information system, to a remote caregiver service for consultation, or to an electronic medical record.

“Approximately 80% of the world’s population lives within range of a cell phone tower,” said Shara Rosen, Kalorama Information’s lead diagnostics analyst. “This means that cell phone technology can bridge the gaps left by a lack of healthcare infrastructure, especially in developing countries. With the aid of a cell phone, health care can be in range for them too.”

Kalorama Information’s report, Cell Phone-Enabled Diagnostics: mHealth Applications in IVD, takes a complete look at the significant companies in the market, gives analyst estimates of the outlook for these types of devices in the IVD market, and analyzes the best areas of IVD for products to succeed.

Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services.

Related Links:
Kalorama Information
Roche
Arkray