Remote Monitoring of Internal Bleeding Based on Magnetic Induction and Cellular Phone Technology: A Potential Application in Poor Regions in México

The goal of this study is to introduce the theoretical foundation of a new concept in medical technology that is centered on the cellular phone. The concept was conceived with the needs of medically underserved regions of Mexico in mind. The application introduced here deals with undetected intraperitoneal bleeding that is responsible for the death of one of four women who die at childbirths and that of 20% of accident trauma deaths; even brain trauma. The concept is made possible by the wide availability of cellular phone technology in Mexico, even in the poorest of regions, where other infrastructure is missing. The biophysical principles of the technology are based on the observation that electromagnetic properties of tissue change with disease and internal bleeding. We introduce a new paradigm of medical diagnostic in which inexpensive electromagnetic coils at the patient site are used to take bulk data from a magnetic field that is generated through the tissue or organ of interest. Instead of processing the data with a computer at the remote site the raw data is send via a cellular phone to a central facility that processes the raw data for the entire country or region. The diagnostic is returned in real time to the cellular phone at the patient site, thereby substantially reducing the cost of the devices and with good quality of the diagnostics. Components and functionality required to support the remote monitoring concept by magnetic fields and cell phone technology are presented. The study includes criteria for data processing at the remote site and gives a linear optimal solution to the problem. More advanced data processing methods and calibration of the system will be developed in future. While designed with the needs of Mexico in mind, this concept could become valuable worldwide.