MOBILE ULTRASOUND PROJECT: MOROCCO
Over 4 weeks, medical professionals drove on a Mobile Ultrasound Patrol caravan to three small villages in rural Morocco. Local midwives, nurses and doctors performed 575 ultrasounds on expecting mothers and sent the results to be interpreted and diagnosed by physicians in 3 larger cities.
Visit www.mobileultrasoundprojects.org to view the entire project.
The Mission
Approximately 800 women die around the world every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Ninety-nine percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries and the rate is highest amongst women living in rural areas, and in poorer communities. Many of them could be prevented with proper maternal care including ultrasound imaging during their pregnancy and delivery. Our mission is to reduce infant and maternal mortality by harnessing the power of our technology. By providing this technology to rural clinics, images can be sent to physicians via mobile phones for review and collaboration with the medical professional performing the exam. This allows women in Morocco to have access to experts currently lacking in rural clinics.
In the field
In the three small villages of rural Morocco, Oulmes, Boulmane and Ribat el Kheir, we worked in health houses, which are similar to a small medical practice. These rural clinics had no computers, health records or Internet access. Although the clinical conditions in these facilities were poor compared to more privileged parts of the world, our technology worked flawlessly, thanks to the great mobile coverage in the area. The midwives and nurses in the villages were very engaged when teaching them how to use the technology, and they welcomed us with open arms. The expecting mothers also showed enthusiasm by arriving in droves to receive an ultrasound and see their unborn babies for the first time.
A professional diagnosis makes a big difference in medical care for these women as we can detect conditions such as placenta previa and the baby position with ultrasound. These conditions might jeopardize the health and ultimately the life of both the mother and the baby. Other conditions that lead to permanent damage to basic human functions such as urination (fistula), can also be prevented.
Using the Trice medical image-routing platform, we sent images, videos and reports via WIFI to reviewing clinics in Casablanca, Fes and Paris. By facilitating a faster transfer of ultrasound exam results, we could avoid transferring patients, saving valuable time to detect high-risk pregnancies and ultimately save lives.
Our findings
“Since this project, there has been a significant increase of women coming to our Health center in order to get follow-up visits during their pregnancy“.
“Apart from the medical aspect for the patients who received examinations, the training aspect during this project was also very helpful for the doctors and the midwives in these regions. Our specialists in obstetrics and gynecology helped to build their knowledge and experience in handling the new ultrasound technologies and conditions to look out for such as placenta previa and fetal malformations.”
– Dr. Chrit, Delegate of health at the province de Khemisset.
- 575 examinations in 8 weeks
- 3 different rural clinics
- 3 reviewing physicians
- 158 patients flagged for a second option
- 94 high-risk pregnancies
- 3,108 images transferred through wireless technology
- 92% of images could be used for a professional diagnosis
- 2 weeks reduced to under 24 hrs for diagnostic review
- $80-$2 cheaper per patient
- 2 weeks reduced to 1 minute to transport medical data
Thanks!
This project was built from scratch with very limited resources. The infrastructure and relationships between clinical staff has developed through the drive of hardworking people. The technology was also adapted to fit the conditions and has proven to have a massive impact. We would like to thank all the passionate souls for their endless commitment, hard work and devotion to the mission to make an ultrasound exam a human right for expecting women. When we work together with a clear and meaningful mission, look what can be accomplished in a few short months. We are proud with the outcome and what we have achieved together!
“This will help to increase health standards in rural villages and save the lives of mothers and their children.”
– Dr. Chrit, Delegate of health at the Province de Khemisset
Download project report >
You can contribute
Join our mission to make ultrasound exams a human right for expecting women. Donate to allow for a package of ultrasound transmissions to be used for medical consultations. You or your Company can select from 3 different packages. For every dollar donated towards transactions, Trice Imaging will donate a dollar. Trice will make sure that people who really need the ultrasound transmissions will get them. And you, you will have contributed to better healthcare for women in need.