The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has showcased its five key projects on information and communications technology (ICT) for health.
DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña said the ICT for Health program is one of the agency’s research priority areas.
“One of our goals in utilizing ICT is to bring health solutions closer to our patients,” he said during the virtual Talakayang HeartBeaT on Wednesday, Sept. 29.
He noted that in 2008, the DOST started to delve into utilizing information communication technologies for health in line with the identification of the Health Information Systems (HIS) as a priority area under the National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA).
He said the initiative gave birth to the ICT for Health program in 2011 under the NUHRA.
“Through the program, we provide support for research initiatives dedicated to data science and eHealth solutions for recording and utilizing patients’ information, mapping of health risks and health resources, telemedicine, and health promotion,” de la Peña said.
The research priority areas of the program include Public Health Surveillance; Tools for Health Information Exchange and Systems Interoperability; and ICT—enabled Health Services.
The five ICT for health projects presented by de la Peña are the following:
-Aruga para sa Batang may Cancer or ABC Initiative. Aruga para sa Batang may Cancer or ABC Initiative
-Feasibility Analysis of Syndromic Surveillance using Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological Modeler for Early Detection of Diseases (FASSSTER) as a monitoring tool for coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
-CHERISH app: Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Powered Reading of Chest X-Rays in the Diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia in a Tertiary Hospital
-SIBOL: RxBox Telemetry System for remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients
-SIBOL: Telepresence Terminals for COVID-19 Response Team
“The projects that I have shown you are only examples of how we can utilize ICT solutions for health. Through these initiatives, we hope to strengthen the country’s capacities for health and ultimately bring healthcare solutions closer to our communities,” de la Peña said.