Sierra Leone is facing a worst outbreak of the Ebola virus that has claimed numerous lives so far. Collecting patient data was becoming a problem from inside the protective zone. At the request from doctors of Medecins Sans Frontieres, (Doctors without borders), Google has devised an Ebola-proof tablet for use by the health workers, according to a report in The Telegraph.
Doctors treating Ebola patients inside the protective zone had to shout out patient details over the fence to someone who would then write them down and later enter them in the patients’ records. Passing details outside by writing them on a piece of paper faced a risk of transmitting the deadly disease.
The shouting method was tedious, time consuming and prone to errors. So they approached several contacts in the field of technology including someone in Google’s Crisis Response Team. Google assigned engineers to work on a solution and they designed the Ebola-proof tablet.
The Ebola-proof tablet is based on a waterproof Sony Xperia Android tablet. This tablet is housed inside a special protective casing so that it can be safely dipped in Chlorine to make it free from contamination. The medics can use it while wearing gloves and safely record patients’ data. The sharp edges of the tablet have been made more rounded so that they don’t pierce the protective clothing of the health workers.
This special Ebola-proof tablet can also withstand highly humid conditions and storms that usually occur in Ebola hit areas of West Africa. It can be charged wirelessly by placing it on the table. The Sierra Leone treatment center has received eight such tablets.
The devices will help to store patient data and map out symptom patterns that could help in better understanding of the disease. These tablets can also help in outbreaks of other deadly diseases.
Google develops an Ebola-proof tablet to collect patient data in Ebola-hit Sierra Leone
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