Philips’ innovation can come in handy

Pakistan’s rural population can benefit from technology

KARACHI:

Pakistan has been found wanting when it comes to adopting modern technology. Innovative solutions in the field of health care and energy hardly make their way to the mainstream.

For an energy-starved country that consists of a predominantly rural population, innovations in health care could provide people in remote areas with facilities that are literally out of reach.

The recently-held Philips Innovation Experience, held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, highlighted such innovations that could come in handy for the Pakistani market as well.

Health care innovations and lighting solutions were emphasised as the company wanted to showcase ways to improve the standard of living.

According to Philips Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten, the company is in a transition phase of developing products and services that not only focus on innovation but the overall improvement of lifestyle as well.

Incorporating technology into health care

In terms of health care, Philips showcased cTnI (Minicare Cardiac troponin-I), a small device that can allow doctors lab-equivalent results in blood tests for instant patient diagnoses and treatment decision making. This device could be utilised in rural areas where hospitals are hard to find.

Visiq, a portable ultrasound device that can be linked to a tablet, allows one to perform diagnostic obstetric, gynaecological and abdominal scans on the spot.

In collaboration with clinical partners, the company is developing solutions that help to treat cancer in more personalised ways.

Another similar device that Philips developed was the BlueControl – a wearable drug-free therapy that controls mild to moderate psoriasis vulgaris with blue LED light – reducing the redness, scaling, thickness and extent of psoriasis vulgaris plaque across the body.

The eCareCompanion and eCareCoordinator are the first two clinical applications developed to be used on the cloud based Philips digital health platform to help monitor and engage patients with multiple chronic conditions in their homes.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2014.

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