PFI:AIR - TT: m Health technology for detection of pregnancy complications

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on an innovative mHealth (mobile Health) system for early diagnosis of hypertensive complications of pregnancy. Hypertension during pregnancy can result in high maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. This mobile-phone based system is important because if hypertension is detected early, mothers and babies have a greatly increased survival rate compared to what happens if this condition is detected at a later stage. The project is expected to result in a prototype of a low cost mHealth technology that can be used at point-of-care or at home. In the future, mHealth will transform the way diseases are diagnosed and treated, drive the healthcare revolution, and have the potential to significantly extend life expectancy. However, there are several fundamental challenges facing mHealth systems that need to be addressed in this project through innovative scientific contributions. The proposed technology is expected to transform mobile healthcare through creation of mobile-platform independent, intelligent mobile sensing systems. A traditional approach requires efforts of several trained professionals to perform, process, and analyze the medical tests, and a qualified doctor to make the diagnosis and treatment decisions. The common basis for this decision-making process is the professional experience of a single/several doctor(s). Because of recent advancements in mHealth technologies and Big Data management, it is now possible to access large-scale biomedical data about thousands of different patients and doctors efficiently. This can be used to create an mHealth mobile-phone application to support and enhance the clinical decision making process. This approach can revolutionize patient diagnostics and treatment, decrease human error, and enable a variety of new biomedical instruments. However, it requires creation of a cross platform system compatible with different mobile hardware and software platforms. This work will address this challenge on multiple levels (ranging from hardware performance fluctuations within the same mobile device and platform, to cross-platform compatibility - e.g. Android and Apple iOS mobile operating systems). The project is expected to close important knowledge gaps about future mHealth systems and develop a fully functional prototype, compatible with different mobile hardware systems. In addition, participating students will gain important technology and business experience, which will positively influence their education and prospective job opportunities. The business mentoring aspects will be covered by Dr. Michael Fountain, the founding director of the University of South Florida's Center for Entrepreneurship. Dr. Fountain is a pioneer in the development and adoption of life sciences entrepreneurship as a sub-interdisciplinary specialty in entrepreneurship education.