Hebrew University: Medical images via mobile

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A process for transmit medical images via mobile phones that has been developed by a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has the potential to provide radiological diagnoses and treatment to the majority of the world’s population that lack physical access to such technology.

Boris Rubinsky has shown the feasibility of his new concept, which can replace current systems based on conventional, stand-alone medical imaging devices with a new system consisting of two independent components connected through mobile phones. The concept could be developed to be compatible with various types of medical imaging technology.

Rubinsky is head of the Research Center for Research in Bioengineering in the Service of Humanity and Society at the Benin School of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is also a professor of bioengineering and mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Working with him on this project were Yair Granot and Antoni Ivorra, both of the Biophysics Graduate Group at Berkeley.

The invention is jointly patented and owned by Yissum, the Hebrew University’s Technology Transfer Company, and by the University of California, Berkeley, which are making joint efforts to commercialise the technology.

According to the World Health Organization, some three-quarters of the world's population has no access to ultrasound, X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and other medical imaging technology.

“Imaging is considered one of the most important achievements in modern medicine. Diagnosis and treatment of an estimated 20 percent of diseases would benefit from medical imaging, yet this advancement has been out of reach for millions of people in the world because the equipment is too costly to maintain. Our system would make imaging technology inexpensive and accessible for these under-served populations,” said Rubinsky.

The new system uses a simple independent data acquisition device (DAD) at a remote patient site that has limited controls and no image display capability. This is connected via mobile phone networks to an advanced image reconstruction and hardware control multiserver unit at a central site, which can be anywhere in the world.

The data is processed at the central facility and the image is transmitted back to the cell phone and displayed on its screen. “The DAD can be made with off-the-shelf parts that somebody with basic technical training can operate,” Rubinsky noted.