Page 157 - Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2016

Box 5.5: Bhutan Epilepsy Project Chapter 5

In the deep, remote valleys of the Kingdom of Bhutan, a small country in South Asia bordered by China, India,
Nepal and Bangladesh, a boy pulls onto his head a plastic headset that looks like a shower cap. This is how the
boy will be diagnosed with epilepsy, using fast-growing mobile health technology to bring improved medical
care to under-served parts of the world. The readings will be taken through the headset using a new cellphone
application.
Just how under- served is Bhutan? It does not have a single neurologist, nor does it have any technology to
diagnose epilepsy, one of the most common neurological disorders (and one easily treated with medication).
With a population of 730,000, Bhutan faces a high burden of epilepsy (estimated at 1 out of 1 000 people). Most
Bhutanese live in rural, mountainous villages, preventing them from receiving trained help for seizure disorders.
What are the telecom statistics in Bhutan like? Despite living in rural areas, the Bhutanese are extremely well
connected. More than 90 per cent own a cell phone, making the country an ideal setting for the Bhutan Epilepsy
Project. It is analyzing the mobile electroencephalography, or EEG, of patients rather than the stationary EEG
technology, which is the standard epilepsy diagnostic tool in American hospitals.
The long-term goal of the project is to train the Bhutanese research coordinators to become more skilled at
employing EEGs themselves. Another goal is to encourage the Bhutanese to communicate with hospitals and
health facilities in other places through the use of simple text and personalized messaging.
Source: The Boston Globe, May 22, 2015 65

Stakeholders
Government Mobile Network Operators
Hardware and software vendors M-Health project team
Project funders Health care professionals and associations
Medical doctors Psychiatrists
Neurologists Nurses
Community workers / educators etc. Data Readers
Programmers NGOs
Child rights activists Patients
Parents/Guardians (for minors and patients who lack capacity) Regulatory authorities
ICT Ministries / regulators Healthcare Ministries / regulators
Ministries handling social services UN Specialized bodies
ITU WHO
UNICEF UNESCO
Application developers Developers of healthcare related content
Media Others

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Source: M-Powering Development Initiative Report 2015 at page 4 .

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