The use of smartphones and tablets may help in the process of contact tracing in West Africa.
The Ebola crisis in West Africa has now officially grabbed the attention of the world, and some now believe that mobile technology could be the key to being able to keep this virus contained.
The reason is that many believe that mobile devices can help to improve contact tracing in this West African crisis.
The concept of contact tracing has become one that is recognized worldwide as people in countries around the world keep on top of the latest in the Ebola crisis and the methods that are being employed in order to contain it. Experts in the area are trying to press the fact that communication is the vital component to any strategy to keep this virus controlled, and mobile technology can be central to making sure that a crisis situation such as this one in Africa can stay contained.
Mobile technology was a vital element of the strategy that informed those who had been in contact with a Liberian patient.
When Thomas Eric Duncan was found to have the Ebola virus, massive information campaigns were launched to help to notify those who may have been exposed to the virus through contact with him. Sadly, Mr. Duncan died on October 8 in a Dallas, Texas hospital.
According to Dr. Joel Selanikio, an expert in infectious diseases, time is a critical factor when communicating with individuals in this type of a situation. Dr. Selanikio’s company, Magpi, uses mobile data collection in combination with a messaging software tool that helps to speed up the process of providing people in crisis situations – such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa – with the information that they need.
Selanikio explained that “What Magpi does is it recognizes that within global health, for example during this Ebola outbreak, there’s a lot of information that needs to be collected.” He added that this type of tool using mobile technology can be one of the most effective ways to track down anyone who could have had contact with someone who has received a diagnosis.
The Lutetia model of the wearable technology has been engineered with a gender specific appearance and function.
The Omate Lutetia is a smartwatch that has taken a unique design strategy when compared to some of the large name rivals in this category such as Samsung and Apple, because the company has decided to come up with a gender specific function and form.
This particular model of wearable technology device was intentionally created with women in mind.
The smartwatch category is rapidly growing in the number of players, but the majority of those that have already been designed have placed themselves in a type of standard “unisex” category. That said, the appearance of these gadgets remains one of the primary complaints that have been made about them and has been blamed for some of the struggles in consumer adoption that have been faced within this category.
The Lutetia model of smartwatch is trying to break away from what it feels is an awkward standard design.
The Lutetia wearable technology design recognizes that the products currently on the market are “great for men, could be worn by a woman.” It is hoping to stand out by taking on a bold strategy that says that there is no need for an exclusively male focused approach to the design of these products. It has come up with the design for women, first, because that is the category that has had the least specific attention since the creation of the wearables category.
This new device has an elegant round interface, not entirely unlike the Moto 360 from Motorola. This mobile device is priced for pre-orders at $169, which is quite competitive within the category. It is expected to become available for delivery before the end of the year. The size of the watch face is 1.5 inches, which is a reasonable within this ecosystem, particularly for the feminine style. It makes the watch face smaller than that of the Moto 360.
The smartwatch from Omate may be designed, in this case, for women, but it has also stated that there will be another model released for men in the not too distant future.
