A demonstration of the capabilities of the Digihealth Automated Telemedicine Machine (ATM) before local health officials last week raised the possibility that its deployment in rural towns could help speed up delivery of health care.
At the Eastern Bicol Medical Center (EBMC) where the first model of the Philippine-assembled machine was demonstrated, about 27 individuals were given the chance to try their hand at the automated medical checkup that promised results within seven (7) minutes.
Among those present during the presentation and demo by Digihealth Specialists, Inc. managing director and chief executive officer Joyce Socao were Governor Joseph Cua, members of the Local Finance Committee, and local health officials led by Provincial Health Officer II Dr. Hazel Palmes.
A similar briefing and demo were given at the Virac Rural Health Unit in the presence of Mayor Samuel Laynes and at the conference room of the Office of the Governor where chiefs of district hospitals and municipal health officers were in attendance, with Bagamanoc Mayor Odilon Pascua undergoing the ATM checkup.
The Digihealth CEO said that the ATM covers more than 50 health parameters, including body temperature, height, weight, blood pressure, SPO2 (peripheral oxygen saturation), Pulse Oximeter, Body Mass Index (BMI), subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, body water, bone mass, fat-free weight, body fat, physique, protein, BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate), metabolic age and Health Score.
It can also determine if the client has anemia through hemoglobin measurement and diabetes via random blood sugar measurement using a pin prick of blood.
The device can also give a cardiac check-up of one’s lipid profile (HDL, LDL, Triglyceride, Cholesterol, TC/HDL ratio, 12-Lead ECG and heart rate.
Among the infectious diseases it can detect are COVID-19, HIV 1 and 2, Malaria, Dengue, Typhoid, Hepatitis B and C, Blood Grouping and Tuberculosis, while a urine checkup provides results for glucose, urobilinogen, bilirubin, ketones, specific gravity, PH, protein, nitrite, leukocytes, microalbumin, and creatinine.
The cost-effective and easy-to-use Health ATM can also give a mental health assessment of the patient.
Socao-Alumno said the device saves the user’s digital health records and can link the patient to the doctor, who can issue an online prescription and even engage the patient in a video consultation.
It can also work without internet and electricity, with the results printed on a paper strip and sent to the patient via email or WhatsApp.
It can be fielded in the rural health units, municipal halls, markets, malls, churches, schools or barangay halls, she added, with a trained health worker to assist the user in some of the more complicated tests.
It does not replace the health worker and instead augments the shortage in health care workers and health facilities, the company official stressed.
An advanced analytics dashboard for impact analysis is also a feature while a new model allows the user, particularly the elderly and people with disabilities, to be seated while being tested.
Socao said the Digihealth ATM data analysis showed that of the 27 who got themselves tested at EBMC, more than half were either in diabetic or prediabetic stage, 10 had high blood pressure while two-thirds have high BMI readings.
The ATM’s software was developed in India, where the use of the machine first spread, while the machine itself is assembled in the Philippines, where the first major city to purchase the ATM for the use of its constituents is Marikina City.
Each machine costs about P1.5 million, not including the supplies that need to be procured from the company.
A partner company of Singapore-based investment firm Mercatus Capital, Digihealth is also engaged in the manufacture and sale of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines through its PICA whole body system, Neonatal MRI for babies and children, a Teleradiology platform, MRI for pets, and portable X-ray machines including handheld models that do not need the use of a lead-lined room due to its use of low radiation technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The company is also developing AI-supported software that would enable the availability of electronic medical records and online booking of doctor’s appointments which Socao said could be better utilized in LGUs.
One such app, Nervotec, will provide data on SPO2, temperature, blood pressure, other vital signs and the emotional state of the user based on predictive analytics using just a facial scan and voice data.