The Impact of Digital X-Rays in Rural Nepal
July 23, 2015 - The Possible Team
Imagine this scenario:
A mother walks for two days to bring her 5-year-old son, who has a broken arm, to Possible’s Bayalpata Hospital. The boy’s x-ray is taken and the image is saved electronically. Our orthopedic surgeon examines the x-ray on her computer through the boy’s patient ID and recommends a treatment.
Every day, our x-ray department takes up to 50 images for fractures, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), tuberculosis, and various pulmonary infections prevalent in HIV-positive patients.
Two of the most important diagnostic tools that Bayalpata Hospital uses are ultrasounds and x-rays, which alone can meet 70–80% of all clinical diagnostic needs. These are also the basic imaging technologies necessary for primary care and emergency services, and an absence of these tools means treatment delays, misdiagnosis, and additional costs to patients.