Singaporean students decided to create a mobile app related to healthcare that can have a huge impact on society. What began as a student project became an innovative productivity tool that was actually used by doctors in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Initially, the team assumed that their mobile app was meant simply as a school project, but the team did such a great job with it that it was actually implemented by doctors in the Neonatal ICU.
The doctor in charge of the students’ project found the team easy to work with, and incredibly patient with the requests. The team went beyond the call of duty to ensure that the app could be used by doctors. The team worked together on the app for two days a week over a period of about five months, allowing the medical team to pilot test the app for safety before it was rolled out in the Neonatal Department.
Initially, the brief to the team was to come up with a mobile database to merely store medical information. However, as the brief evolved, the team later identified opportunities to increase the app’s functionalities. They scoped three key workflow areas to improve on:
- Minimise human error: The previous process required manual input and calculation using Excel, and the mobile app eliminates this by providing faster and better computation on the spot. In fact, the team managed to resolve the issue of computing the formula right down to the decimal point.
- Offline capability: Since medication is updated very frequently, the team managed to create a database that could be updated not just on-the-go but also offline.
- Portable solution: In emergencies, a mobile app with its portability is definitely an advantage. In cases of infant resuscitation, a lot of medication and tubings are required, and with the app, doctors only need to input basic details to generate life-saving information.
The entire project sees a culmination of what the team has learned by Year 2 of their Software Engineering degree, including Mobile App Development, Human-Computer Interaction, and Intro to Software Engineering. These modules helped the team create an intuitive, easy-to-use User Interface (UI) within an agile framework methodology. This successful project showed just one way Software Engineering can help build bridge healthcare and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to create a meaningful impact on lives.
Singapore has been inventing many technologies in healthcare sector, such as digital health monitoring solutions. As reported by OpenGov Asia, mews reports say that a Singapore Internet of Things (IoT) and smart wearables firm have concluded successful trials of its Digital Monitoring Solution with its medical partners under the Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund Call-for-Trials Proposals (CFP). The trial featured seafarers as participants and spanned three months.
To improve the process for a safe and secure crew change, the tech firm created a digital solution to provide the maritime industry with greater assurance in the health of the seafarers, ensure seafarers’ adherence to safety guidelines and enable a transparent quarantine process and accurate documentation. The initiative resolves a critical blind spot for safe and secure crew change for the industry.
The Digital Monitoring Solution is an affordable and fully integrated smart health platform comprising a tamper-proof smart wearable, mobile app, geofence locator, remote monitoring dashboard and automatic alerts. The solution provides a holistic 360-degree view for round-the-clock monitoring and detailed record logs of a seafarer’s well-being, combining key vitals tracking (temperature, heart rate, SPO2, activity level and sleep patterns), highly accurate indoor geofencing with automated geofence quarantine monitoring and health symptoms monitoring. It analyses and triangulates information collected and can detect abnormalities and assess risks.
