Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
1190 Hornby Street - 4th Floor
Vancouver BC V6Z 2K5
Tel: [604.875.2021]
Contact: webmaster
July 29 , 2011
Congratulations to Dr. Peter von Dadelszen, Dr. Mark Ansermino and their team for successfully being recognized in a global competition for funding for their innovative concept of using a cell phone to measure oxygen content in the blood, for use in Africa.
You can read more in the Globe and Mail about the "Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development" seed grant at
Then there’s a $5 gizmo hooked up to an iPhone that provides a real-time display of a mother’s oxygen levels in the days before birth – a critical measure for accurately predicting pre-eclampsia, the leading cause of maternal mortality. “It’s a ‘Phone Oximeter,’” says Mark Ansermino, a scientist and associate professor at the University of British Columbia.
A steady stream of information, coloured graphs and predictive warnings dances on his iPhone screen. It might be measuring enthusiasm: “There an app for that,” he laughs, referring to the clever linkage between software and the tiny flashing LEDs that can measure hemoglobin levels. And if you don’t have an iPhone in rural Rwanda – where simple cellphones are ubiquitous even off the power grid – then it will work too, sending a set of audio tones detailing the results from the little rubber finger sleeve that measures the redness (hence the oxygen) in the blood.
Addendum: CTV link below:
http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=511527
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
1190 Hornby Street - 4th Floor
Vancouver BC V6Z 2K5
Tel: [604.875.2021]
Contact: webmaster