Question:
Team Members Full Names:
Answer:
Priscila Gonzalez Barba, Iván Figueroa García, Juan Carlos Peña Ramos, Juan Pablo Andrade.
Question:
Mentor:
Answer:
We don't have a specific mentor for this project/competition.
Question:
Title of Project:
Answer:
Hygea. Telemedicine for everyone.
Question:
Project Overview:
Answer:
We are creating a telemedicine device with three initial applications. This system will include electrotherapy for the treatment of several diseases, an electromyograph (EMG) and an electrocardiograph (ECG) for the analysis of the therapy performance and health state. The application will include a chat window for the patient and/or nurse in one place to see the medical specialist in other place.
Question:
Technology/Software Used:
Answer:
Hardware: Ebox-4300, Myoelectric and Heart signal acquisition circuit cards, Electrical stimulation circuit (designed & implemented by us). Software: Developed under Visual Studio 2005 for the Windows CE 6.0
Question:
Inspiration: What inspired your team to enter the Microsoft Imagine Cup and why did you choose the Embedded Development competition?
Answer:
The main objective of the project is to help as many people as we can providing quality medical attention. We entered this prestigious competition to corroborate the project's viability and potential in an international environment. We've chosen this competition since for the technical requirements an embedded solution is the proper approach.
Question:
Team History: How did your team meet?
Answer:
At school we found out we are a bunch of geeks who spend part of their vacations trying to make a change!!and we got together...
Question:
Team Experience: What experience did your team have with Embedded Development before competing in the Imagine Cup?
Answer:
A previous version of the system was built using microcontrollers in order to achieve real time processing. To achieve this objective we merged a higher level software.
Question:
Highlights: What has been the best part of the Imagine Cup competition to date?
Answer:
Discovering that indeed our project is internationally valuable.
Question:
Inspiration: How did your team come up with your submission? Include which Millennium Development Goal inspired your solution.
Answer:
We're trying to solve the sixth Millenium Development Goal: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. We've been involved in medical-engineering projects for two years now, and there's a lot of inequalities we've seen in this area. Medical devices and medicines are expensive and a lot of people die due the lack of opportune medical attention. We're trying to cooperate in this goal with an alternative treatment for AIDS and diseases which require pain management.
Question:
Challenges: What personal or technological challenges did your team face while developing your submission?
Answer:
Besides the time scheduling, one of the hardest things was to translate the medical information and parameters to engineering concepts that we understand. Besides, the convergence of technologies is really hard in an embedded system due the variety of sw/hw technologies used. Synchronizing and coupling the different systems as part of one whole solution is also a challenging task.
Question:
Future Plans: What does your team plan on doing after the Worldwide Finals in Cairo, Egypt? Do you plan to use your project to launch a new business?
Answer:
Yes, we'll try to make this project a real world solution. First we must solve all the technological issues, then think about the business model that best fit for the patients and for us. There are opportunities in our state for product placement in a multi-sport event -Pan American Games. 75% of the team is planning to study a masters degree.
Question:
Links to more information (i.e. website, blog):
Answer:
Ivan Figueroa's personal blog:
http://lamofaacerba.blogspot.com/
Juan Pablo's Enterprise:
http://www.teporingo.com/