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Title:
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DESIGN AND VALIDATION OF A LOW-COST TELEMICROSCOPY SYSTEM |
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Author(s):
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Ignacio Prieto-Egido, Víctor García-Giganto, Alba González-Escalada, Andrés Martínez-Fernández |
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ISBN:
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978-989-8704-11-5 |
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Editors:
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Piet Kommers, Pedro Isaías, Claire Gauzente, Miguel Baptista Nunes, Guo Chao Peng and Mário Macedo |
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Year:
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2014 |
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Edition:
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Single |
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Keywords:
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Telemicroscopy, e-Health, telemedicine, rural areas of developing countries, open source software, embedded systems |
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Type:
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Full Paper |
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First Page:
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279 |
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Last Page:
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286 |
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Language:
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English |
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Cover:
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Full Contents:
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click to dowload 
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Paper Abstract:
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Microscopy is one of the main techniques in the diagnosis of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis or diarrhoeal diseases. Diagnosis by microscopy requires specific knowledge and is usually performed by microbiology specialists. In health posts of rural areas of developing countries there are usually health technicians, who typically dont know to diagnose these target diseases. This paper presents the design and validation of a low-cost telemicroscopy system adapted to rural areas of developing countries. This system allows sharing the microscope image in real time, so that the specialist can lead the whole process and remotely provide a right diagnosis. The system uses a low-cost digital microscope camera to convert the microscope image to digital format, so any conventional microscope can be employed. The video streaming can be displayed directly on a web browser and the audio communication is established using VoIP. The system is implemented on a low-cost embedded system, Odroid-U3, and is based on open source software, so it can be easily replicated. A technical validation has been performed to check that the required bandwidth is lower than 500 kbps and that the video delay is below 1.5 seconds. The power consumption (including the local display system) is less than 15W and the total cost of the system is below $275. Finally, a preliminary clinical validation has been performed to prove that the system provides diagnose quality resolution. |
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