World's first multi-platform technology for medical image sharing

The technology allows doctors to share, annotate and discuss medical images across a range of handheld devices in real-time, enhancing diagnostic procedures and enabling doctors to reach a broader field of patients.

Diagnostic imaging has become indispensable in modern medical practice. To give the best treatment possible doctors discuss images with specialists, usually requiring all parties to be under one roof. While doctors have previously been able to share images virtually, ENDEAVOR-Mobile allows doctors to quickly source expert opinions from their colleagues and discuss critical medical cases in real-time, regardless of location.

Doctors can share annotations of images, drawn with their fingertips, while simultaneously discussing the case orally over a standard mobile line. While one other similar product exists for Apple devices, the Java based application is not limited to any single operating system, can be shared with desktop computers and is currently being tested on a range of Android based devices. Bandwidth issues are avoided by the independent transfer of images and annotations, reducing running costs and expanding the number of locations in which ENDEAVOR-Mobile can be used.

The technology has been developed by a multi-disciplinary team of experienced medical doctors, image analysis researchers, and software engineers in USM’s Computer Vision Research Group. As part of the ENDEAVOR suite, which incorporates cutting edge image analysis technologies in real world healthcare solutions, ENDEAVOR-Mobile is expected to be market ready in the very near future. Several hospitals have been earmarked for conducting pilot runs of the entire ENDEAVOR suite, and various telecoms providers are in consultation to fully utilize the mobile capability of ENDEAVOR-Mobile.

In 2009, the ratio of doctors to patients in Malaysia stood at 1:940, above the recommended ratio of 1:600 standard set by the World Health Organisation. By enabling medical professionals to consult regardless of geographical location, such new teleradiology technology will allow doctors to reach a broader swathe of the population, helping to democratize healthcare delivery.