Medical imaging software developed at a university in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
Medical imaging
software created at a university in Thailand is the topic of an
insightful article in the Bangkok Post Database section this week: (Photo on right of "Tele Diag" a one-stop solution for sending tele-images between radiologists at different hospitals, which will aid decision-making for clinics which are short-staffed.)
Tech News
Software to bridge gap between hospitals
Applications help ease shortage of experts3/03/2010
Suchit Leesa-nguansuk
A shortage of medical experts in Thailand could be overcome by using advanced telecommunication technologies and software which can aid faster medical treatment decisions.
gap
- a large difference between people or groups ช่องว่าง
bridge gap - end the difference, make the two groups equal
applications - computer programs or software
ease - to make less severe บรรเทา
shortage - when there is not enough of something การขาดแคลน
ease shortage - lessen the negative effects of the shortage
overcome - solve a problem or put and end to a difficulty, to succeed in controlling or dealing with something ต่อสู้อุปสรรคจนสำเร็จสำมารถดำเนินการต่อไปได้
aid - help ช่วย
treatment - the process of providing medical care การรักษา
one-stop solution - one system that takes care of everything, all steps combined
X-rays - well-known technology for looking inside the body with pictures, used by doctors to treat disease (See Wikipedia)
radiologists - doctors who specialize in X-rays (See Wikipedia)
clinics - places where people go to receive medical treatment
short-staffed - does not have enough workers to do the job
bridge gap - end the difference, make the two groups equal
applications - computer programs or software
ease - to make less severe บรรเทา
shortage - when there is not enough of something การขาดแคลน
ease shortage - lessen the negative effects of the shortage
overcome - solve a problem or put and end to a difficulty, to succeed in controlling or dealing with something ต่อสู้อุปสรรคจนสำเร็จสำมารถดำเนินการต่อไปได้
aid - help ช่วย
treatment - the process of providing medical care การรักษา
one-stop solution - one system that takes care of everything, all steps combined
X-rays - well-known technology for looking inside the body with pictures, used by doctors to treat disease (See Wikipedia)
radiologists - doctors who specialize in X-rays (See Wikipedia)
clinics - places where people go to receive medical treatment
short-staffed - does not have enough workers to do the job
This could also create further opportunities for Thailand's reputation as a regional medical hub, as it could facilitate the pooling of resources between hospitals.
For example, a trading IT company has developed its own innovative application, Tele Diag, which could ease problems associated with the country's shortage of radiologists by offering a pioneering tele-radiologist service.
opportunities
- a situation where it is possible to do something that you want to do
โอกาส
reputation - the opinion people have about how good or bad someone or something is ชื่อเสียง
hub - the central or main part of something where there is most activity จุดศูนย์กลาง
facilitate - help achieve goals, make it possible or easier for something to happen ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น
resources - things such as money, workers and equipment that can be used to help achieve something ทรัพยากร
innovative - using new methods or ideas เกี่ยวกับการปรับปรุงใหม่, ที่เต็มไปด้วยจิตใจปฏิรูปใหม่
pioneering - being the first one to do or accomplish something
reputation - the opinion people have about how good or bad someone or something is ชื่อเสียง
hub - the central or main part of something where there is most activity จุดศูนย์กลาง
facilitate - help achieve goals, make it possible or easier for something to happen ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น
resources - things such as money, workers and equipment that can be used to help achieve something ทรัพยากร
innovative - using new methods or ideas เกี่ยวกับการปรับปรุงใหม่, ที่เต็มไปด้วยจิตใจปฏิรูปใหม่
pioneering - being the first one to do or accomplish something
The company, Prodigi, a Thai software developer specialising in medical imaging technology, spent more than three months working with the radiology department at Mahidol University's Faculty of Medicine at Ramathibodi Hospital to develop Tele Diag.
The 10-million-baht solution features tele-imaging, which enables the sending and receiving of MRI, CT or other modality images, and combines them into a single file under the DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standard, which is used for the exchange of images and related information in healthcare.
spent
- used ใช้ไป
MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a technique for looking inside the body at a "cross-section" that uses "nuclear magnetism" (See Wikipedia)
cross-section -
CT - Computed Tomography, a way of using X-rays to make three dimensional pictures of the inside of the human body, used by doctors to treat diesease (See Wikipedia)
modality images - ?
DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) - "a standard for handling, storing, printing, and transmitting information in medical imaging. It includes a file format definition and a network communications protocol" (See Wikipedia)
medical imaging - making pictures of inside human body in order to reveal, diagnose and examine disease (See Wikipedia)
file - to take official action, in this case, to make an official complaint ยื่นคำร้อง
healthcare - the treatment and prevention of diseases and other medical problems
MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a technique for looking inside the body at a "cross-section" that uses "nuclear magnetism" (See Wikipedia)
cross-section -
CT - Computed Tomography, a way of using X-rays to make three dimensional pictures of the inside of the human body, used by doctors to treat diesease (See Wikipedia)
modality images - ?
DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) - "a standard for handling, storing, printing, and transmitting information in medical imaging. It includes a file format definition and a network communications protocol" (See Wikipedia)
medical imaging - making pictures of inside human body in order to reveal, diagnose and examine disease (See Wikipedia)
file - to take official action, in this case, to make an official complaint ยื่นคำร้อง
healthcare - the treatment and prevention of diseases and other medical problems
Hospitals can choose to use only tele-imaging and send the images their own radiologists to interpret, or to send the image via the Tele-Reader service from the company's radiologist network team, which incurs a fee of 12-20 percent.
The company offers the application via a subscription or Software as a Service (SaaS) model in order to make it affordable at every level. The company sees this as a way to thank Thai society after it was established with the assistance of Thailand Science Park.
interpret
- to decide what the meaning of something is อธิบาย,ชี้แจง
image - any picture or photo
network - a large system of connected parts, organisations, people, etc. เครือข่าย
fee - an amount of money that you pay to be allowed to do something ค่าธรรมเนียม, ค่าตอบแทน, ค่าบริการ
subscription - an amount of money that you pay regularly to receive a product or service or to be a member of an organization การบอกรับเป็นสมาชิก
affordable - does not cost too much, so people have enough money to use or buy it, not expensive ไม่แพง
established - started for the first time
assistance - help (given to someone)
Thailand Science Park (TSP) - founded in 2002 as a center for research and development under the management of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) , Ministry of Science and Technology. Its mission are to promote innovation and R&D activities in the private sector and to develop a critical mass of R&D human resource for Thailand (See website and previous article)
image - any picture or photo
network - a large system of connected parts, organisations, people, etc. เครือข่าย
fee - an amount of money that you pay to be allowed to do something ค่าธรรมเนียม, ค่าตอบแทน, ค่าบริการ
subscription - an amount of money that you pay regularly to receive a product or service or to be a member of an organization การบอกรับเป็นสมาชิก
affordable - does not cost too much, so people have enough money to use or buy it, not expensive ไม่แพง
established - started for the first time
assistance - help (given to someone)
Thailand Science Park (TSP) - founded in 2002 as a center for research and development under the management of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) , Ministry of Science and Technology. Its mission are to promote innovation and R&D activities in the private sector and to develop a critical mass of R&D human resource for Thailand (See website and previous article)
Normally, if a general hospital has to invest in its own system, it has to pay at least 10 million baht for the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and its own storage.
Furthermore, it is common that rural hospitals may have adequate medical facilities but a shortage of radiologists, meaning the expensive equipment is under-utilised.
storage
- the putting and keeping of things in a special place for use in the
future การเก็บ
common - usual, ordinary
rural - connected with the countryside outside big towns and cities (farms, forests) ในชนบท, บ้านนอก
adequate - good enough or large enough for a particular purpose พอเพียง
facilities - the buildings, equipment and services provided for a particular purpose สิ่งอำนวยความสะดวก
under-utilised - not used much, could be used more
common - usual, ordinary
rural - connected with the countryside outside big towns and cities (farms, forests) ในชนบท, บ้านนอก
adequate - good enough or large enough for a particular purpose พอเพียง
facilities - the buildings, equipment and services provided for a particular purpose สิ่งอำนวยความสะดวก
under-utilised - not used much, could be used more
Under the SaaS model, the company charges 4,900 baht per month for unlimited use. This has so far been adopted by 20 hospitals nationwide, including Praram 9 Hospital and Vejthani Hospital in Bangkok, Srisawan Hospital in Nakhon Sawan and other provincial hospitals. The system has been used in more than 30,000 cases since October last year.
The solution allows radiologists to access the system from other hospitals or even from home via the internet and view the images and send back their interpretations.
charges
- a payment that has to be made for something เงินที่เรียกเก็บ
adopted - they started using it
nationwide - including the whole country ทั่วประเทศ
access - the right or opportunity to have, use or get something ได้รับสิทธิ์หรือโอกาสในการใช้
interpretations - the meaning they found in it, after looking at it
adopted - they started using it
nationwide - including the whole country ทั่วประเทศ
access - the right or opportunity to have, use or get something ได้รับสิทธิ์หรือโอกาสในการใช้
interpretations - the meaning they found in it, after looking at it
The application guarantees a 30-minute turnaround time for sending and receiving.
We have great doctors and radiologists, especially in the leading hospitals, on standby 24 hours a day, but typically there are fewer patients in a night shift, so this [Tele Diag] service will help hospitals to maximise their staff efficiency as well as increase revenue," said Surachon Gunvijit, Managing Director of Prodigi.
turnaround time -
the time it takes to do a job (here the time it takes to send and
receive)
typically - usually; normally อย่างเป็นแบบฉบับ
shift - a period of work time in a factory, hospital or other place where some people work during the day and some work at night กะ หรือระยะเวลาทำงานเป็นช่วงๆ เช่น กะเช้า้ กะบ่าย กะกลางคืน
night shift - the group of employees at a company who work at night
maximise - make big, as big as possible
staff - workers, employees, people who work at a company พนักงาน
efficiency - waste little time, energy and resources in doing a task (minimize time, energy and resources in performing a task) (See glossary) การทำงานอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ คุ้มค่าเวลาและใช้พลังงานหรือต้นทุนในการผลิตน้อย เพื่อให้ได้ผลผลิตมาก, operating without waste, getting the job done without using a lot of resources, doing a lot with a little resources
revenue - income from taxes or business activities รายได้
typically - usually; normally อย่างเป็นแบบฉบับ
shift - a period of work time in a factory, hospital or other place where some people work during the day and some work at night กะ หรือระยะเวลาทำงานเป็นช่วงๆ เช่น กะเช้า้ กะบ่าย กะกลางคืน
night shift - the group of employees at a company who work at night
maximise - make big, as big as possible
staff - workers, employees, people who work at a company พนักงาน
efficiency - waste little time, energy and resources in doing a task (minimize time, energy and resources in performing a task) (See glossary) การทำงานอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ คุ้มค่าเวลาและใช้พลังงานหรือต้นทุนในการผลิตน้อย เพื่อให้ได้ผลผลิตมาก, operating without waste, getting the job done without using a lot of resources, doing a lot with a little resources
revenue - income from taxes or business activities รายได้
He added that the application received the Outstanding Telecom Application award in 2009 from the Telecommunications Research and Industrial Development Institute (TRIDI ).
This lends more credibility to the software and has spurred the company to enhance its features to support bigger file sizes, from the current 1 GB to 2 GB within this year.
Telecommunications Research and
Industrial Development Institute (TRIDI
) - Thai government organisation that supports
telecommuncations research (See website)
credibility - believability, the degree to which something can be believed or trusted ความน่าเชื่อถือ,ความน่าไว้วางใจ
spurred - caused ก่อให้เกิด
enhance - to improve the quality, amount or strength of something ทำให้ดีเพิ่มขึ้น
features - the special things that a product has that make it different from other similar products (example: a mobile phone with a camera or MP3 player)
support - help, by giving money, for example สนับสนุน
current - of the present time ปัจจุบัน
credibility - believability, the degree to which something can be believed or trusted ความน่าเชื่อถือ,ความน่าไว้วางใจ
spurred - caused ก่อให้เกิด
enhance - to improve the quality, amount or strength of something ทำให้ดีเพิ่มขึ้น
features - the special things that a product has that make it different from other similar products (example: a mobile phone with a camera or MP3 player)
support - help, by giving money, for example สนับสนุน
current - of the present time ปัจจุบัน
He also plans to expand this service to boost Thailand's profile as one of the region's leading teleradiology service providers and gain customers from India, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
However, a broader service would require a further investment of some 60 million baht to facilitate a bigger capacity data centre with backup storage and call centre support.
expand
- to become larger ขายตัวออกไป
boost - to increase; to strengthen เพิ่ม; ทำให้มีกำลังมากขึ้น, ทำให้มีกำลังมากขึ้น
profile - personal information on a website (a description of who you are, your work and your personal interests, likes and dislikes)
profile - a description
investment - taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
capacity - the largest amount that can be produced with current resources (factory, equipment, machines, facilities) ความสามารถในการ (ผลิต) ความสามารถ (ความจุ) ในการจัดการ
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
backup - after using a file on a computer, keeping a copy for looking at and using in the future (See Wikipedia)
backup storage - the hard drive or other device used to keep a copy of a file
call center - a centralised office for receiving and sending a large amount of telephone calls to provide such things as product support or information requests from a company's customers, also outgoing calls for telemarketing, clientele, product services, and debt collection (See Wikipedia)
support - help
boost - to increase; to strengthen เพิ่ม; ทำให้มีกำลังมากขึ้น, ทำให้มีกำลังมากขึ้น
profile - personal information on a website (a description of who you are, your work and your personal interests, likes and dislikes)
profile - a description
investment - taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
capacity - the largest amount that can be produced with current resources (factory, equipment, machines, facilities) ความสามารถในการ (ผลิต) ความสามารถ (ความจุ) ในการจัดการ
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
backup - after using a file on a computer, keeping a copy for looking at and using in the future (See Wikipedia)
backup storage - the hard drive or other device used to keep a copy of a file
call center - a centralised office for receiving and sending a large amount of telephone calls to provide such things as product support or information requests from a company's customers, also outgoing calls for telemarketing, clientele, product services, and debt collection (See Wikipedia)
support - help
It will take time to grow the business and this will also require further investment, but at this stage we have reached an informal agreement with Bumrungrad International Hospital, Vejthani Hospital and Bangkok Hospital as partners in a radiologists network to provide cross broader services," said Surachon.
stage
- a particular point in time during a process or set of events
จังหวะเวลา, ระยะเวลา ช่วงเวลา, ช่วง
informal - not official
partners - the companies owning part of the joint venture หุ้นส่วน
provide - to give someone something that they want or need
services - บริการต่างๆ things produced in service industries, not a physical good that can be bought, a waitress and a cook in a restaurant provide a service, technically: a sequence of activities that does not result in ownership of the outcome (See Wikipedia on services and the goods and services continuum)
informal - not official
partners - the companies owning part of the joint venture หุ้นส่วน
provide - to give someone something that they want or need
services - บริการต่างๆ things produced in service industries, not a physical good that can be bought, a waitress and a cook in a restaurant provide a service, technically: a sequence of activities that does not result in ownership of the outcome (See Wikipedia on services and the goods and services continuum)
Animals to benefit too
Surachon continued that this month Prodigi plans to introduce the first "TeleVet" in Thailand, allowing veterinary surgeries to send and receive laboratory results and digital X-rays.The web-based application will improve tele-consulting between veterinarians at different surgeries through the exchange of images and information.
benefit
- to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
digital - using a computer (opposite: analogue)
laboratory results - what the tests say about a person's health and illness, tests that a doctor ordered a laboratory to do
veterinary - relating to the care of animals that are ill or injured by veterinarians (animal doctors)
results - what is produced in the end by an activity or task
improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
consulting - discussing something with someone in order to get their advice or their permission to do something หารือ
digital - using a computer (opposite: analogue)
laboratory results - what the tests say about a person's health and illness, tests that a doctor ordered a laboratory to do
veterinary - relating to the care of animals that are ill or injured by veterinarians (animal doctors)
results - what is produced in the end by an activity or task
improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
consulting - discussing something with someone in order to get their advice or their permission to do something หารือ
Currently, there are 1,000 animal clinics in Thailand, and the treatment of animal patients face similar difficulties as with their human counterparts. For example, there is also a lack of experts or specialists in this field - a problem which can also be eased with software.
The TeleVet application will help to reduce the physical and technological gap between veterinary surgeries and clinics in urban and rural areas.
clinics - places
with doctors where people go to get treated for medical problems
counterpart - something with a similar function or position
lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
field - a subject of study in a university or professional work such as architecture, law or medicine
physical gap - the physical distance between people (example: I am located in the city and you are located in the countryside farming area)
technological gap - the difference between the technology available in two places (example: low tech in rural areas and high tech in city)
urban - of or in a city or town ในเมือง
counterpart - something with a similar function or position
lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
field - a subject of study in a university or professional work such as architecture, law or medicine
physical gap - the physical distance between people (example: I am located in the city and you are located in the countryside farming area)
technological gap - the difference between the technology available in two places (example: low tech in rural areas and high tech in city)
urban - of or in a city or town ในเมือง
For example, a veterinarian in a rural area may require co-consulting from central hospitals when presented with special or unusual cases or symptoms, or diseases specific to certain animals.
Tele services help medical experts to reduce barriers and improve patients' quality of life," Surachon concluded.
veterinarian
- a person with a medical degree trained to take care of the health of
animals สัตวแพทย์
consulting - giving advice
co-consulting - consulting together with someone else ("co-" means that two or more people are doing the activity together)
symptoms - things in and on a person's body that tell a doctor that they have a disease
reduce barriers - get rid of and eliminate the things that prevent you from doing things
quality of life - a measure of the well-being of people in a country or place that includes things other than income such as "the environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time, and social belonging" (See Wikipedia)
concluded - ended
consulting - giving advice
co-consulting - consulting together with someone else ("co-" means that two or more people are doing the activity together)
symptoms - things in and on a person's body that tell a doctor that they have a disease
reduce barriers - get rid of and eliminate the things that prevent you from doing things
quality of life - a measure of the well-being of people in a country or place that includes things other than income such as "the environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time, and social belonging" (See Wikipedia)
concluded - ended
(Source: Software to bridge gap between hospitals, Applications help ease shortage of experts, 3/03/2010, Suchit Leesa-nguansuk, link)
