Ebola-Proof Tablet Developed By Google Set For Deployment In Sierra Leone

MojoKid writes Google has co-developed a tablet device for use by workers battling Ebola in Sierra Leone. The modified Sony Xperia tablet comes with an extra protective shell, and can withstand chlorine dousing as well as exposure to the high humidity and storms that are typical of life in West Africa. It can even be used by workers wearing protective gloves. Since even a single piece of paper leaving a high-risk zone poses a risk of passing on the infection, doctors on site at the height of the current outbreak of the disease were reduced to shouting patient notes to workers on the other side of a protective zone fence. Those workers would then enter the information into patient records. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) technology advisor Ivan Gayton said this practice was "error prone, exhausting, and it wasted five or 10 minutes of the hour medics can spend fully dressed inside the protective zone before they collapse from heat exhaustion." To address the issue, MSF challenged a number of technology volunteers to create an "Ebola-proof tablet" to improve efficiency. This collective, which included Whitespell's Pim de Witte and Hack4Good's Daniel Cunningham, grew to include a member of Google's Crisis Response Team, and it was this group that co-developed the device.

Comments

Hardened gear is important

[MichaelSmith]

Until recently I worked for a company which supplied industrial grade computers, including tablets. All the tablets we supplied ran windows. Google need to push hard to break into that market segment and developing a product like this is a good place to start.

Re:Hardened gear is important

[rmdingler]

+1 Informeresting.

Although, since this comes from a house with no mods, that and five euros gets you a fancy cup of coffee at the Fivebucks.

Super expensive alternative to a UV light

[Anonymous Coward]

So instead of simply buying a waterproof case or putting pens and paper under UV light for a few minutes they want high pressure water proof tablets which no doubt cost 200% more than the original item and 5,000,000% more some UV lightbulbs and some pens and paper.

Re:Super expensive alternative to a UV light

[Anonymous Coward]

They're just trying to cover additional bases to make sure. In quarantine units in the US for example all your gear is cleaned after use by going through:

• A trip to the autoclave;
• A stay in the UV Light Box; and
• A dip in the disinfectant (chlorine) bath.

For something like Ebola you want to be sure that whatever your using is actually decontaminated otherwise you would just be better served sending it to the incinerator.

Re:Super expensive alternative to a UV light

[Anonymous Coward]

full disclosure did not rtfa, but doubt this thing is autoclavable.

Re:Super expensive alternative to a UV light

[stephanruby]

So instead of simply buying a waterproof case or putting pens and paper under UV light for a few minutes they want high pressure water proof tablets which no doubt cost 200% more than the original item

Don't worry, it doesn't seem like those devices were modified at all.

My Xperia Z Ultra is already waterproof and both has capacitive touch and resistive touch, so I can write on it with a standard pen or pencil. The only thing they seem to have added is an extra case, which is probably unnecessary as well, my Z Ultra doesn't look like it, but it's basically indestructible.

and 5,000,000% more some UV lightbulbs and some pens and paper.

A pen and paper is nice, but you still need someone to enter that data into a database of some kind. Especially with Ebola, you don't want the notes to be left in a drawer somewhere in a foreign hospital waiting for someone to type up. Also with a tablet, you can annotate your notes with pictures and videos.

That being said, all of this is most likely a PR move from Sony. Undoubtedly, they gave those tablets to MSF for free. In exchange, MSF can say they're using it, which will be true initially, but in fact, most of those devices will be stolen, or will have disappeared, after a week or two. After all, it's not like these doctors from Medecins Sans Frontieres will be staying in five star hotels in Africa, they will have to go where the poor people are. And to a poor person in Africa, the value of an Xperia device is the equivalent of a couple years of wages.

Re:Super expensive alternative to a UV light

[Anonymous Coward]

The story reeks of PR anyway.

- If they wanted to use a pen and paper they could. Just take a picture of it at the end and email it out of the quarantine for printing.
- They could use a wireless microphone or even a tape recorder under their protective gear and transcribe it later.
- They could use a video camera on a wheel stand (or similar).
- They could have a couple of disposable computers inside the quarantine zone and use any of the off-the-shelf washable keyboards and mice used around the world in research laboratories and hospitals which are chlorine and UV resistant and CAN go into the autoclave.

And probably hundreds of other ways but I'm too lazy to keep going :)

2 Cups, 1 string

[Anonymous Coward]

So, giving them some simple cheap comms to communicate to a central record wasn't suggested?

Seeme like it would be faster than having each Dr./Worker manually entering data themselves.

Re: 2 Cups, 1 string

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that what you use at your workplace?

Re:2 Cups, 1 string

[Anonymous Coward]

How would they use this in a protective suit? How do you disinfect it? Where is this "central record" in an ebola clinic? Did you even think for 5 seconds before posting this?

Shouting?

[Anonymous Coward]

The chlorine submersible tablet sounds pretty cool and I like anything that pushes mobile device toughness!
That said...
The article said they were forced to resort to shouting across barriers. Was there some reason they couldn't just wear a wireless microphone under their protective gear? Initially I thought it might have been because of a lack of charging facilities in these areas but they would have to be charging their tablets as well :/

Re:Shouting?

[ColdWetDog]

Yes, wireless mic + Dragon or even just an audio file to transcribe at your leisure. Much easier than trying to type on some horrid little membrane keyboard.

We have these COWs at the hospital (Computers on Wheels although we aren't supposed to call them that because it's not politically correct although I've never seen why denigrating dinner was such an issue) that have keyboards that you can run through a dishwasher and all other manner of decontamination. They are horrid. Slow. Squishy. Like trying to type through industrial strength jello.

Hell, you could put GoPro's on your head and get and audio and video log. Those housing will certainly take a mild clorox bath. It's not like you have to boil the thing to get rid of Ebola.

Re:Shouting?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there a wireless charging option for the GoPro? A GoPro with a hardened shell that never has to come off would be an amazing option.

Great

[Anonymous Coward]

But I never heard of a computer that died of ebola. Is this a new Microsoft vulnerability? Necrosoft?

Re:Great

[Anne Thwacks]

a computer that died of ebola

Surely the real news is that Android tablets are now susceptable to human viruses.

Signed:

iBollocks.

Cool

[rossdee]

Maybe I could use this tablet at work without the infection control officer (and charge nurse) complaining...

Umm, really, is this news ?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are literally dozens of infection control solutions for tablets that have existed for years that can withstand disinfectant solutions, that have been used in hospitals , even in operating theatres, for years.

I'm sorry but it sounds like someone's PR department did a good job.

Seriously - Otterbox/Lifeproot/Griffin case and a heavy duty ziplock bag and you are good to go if you need something expedient.

FFS

Why not a mike?

[Lorens]

The tablet is doubtless cool! Restricting oneself to available hardware, the doctor could have a mike inside the suit, and the assistant could then easily take dictation outside.

Re:Why not a mike?

[Anonymous Coward]

Or write on paper/whiteboard inside the protective fence and hold it up for someone else to see. Seriously, why wouldn't that work? They'd already have plenty of materials to securely dispose of, would adding some paper really make that much of a difference?

Re:Why not a mike?

[Anonymous Coward]

The mike would need to be able to be decontaminated, or disposable.

However, I don't think the notes "patient one: about to die; patient two: about to die" would take that long to dictate...

The ultimate ebola proof tablet

[SuperKendall]

Make a tablet so poor, no-one would touch it - hence, no ebola!

I leave the culmination of the joke to the reader, for cross-platform mirth,

one word...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) technology advisor Ivan Gayton said this practice was "error prone, exhausting, and it wasted five or 10 minutes of the hour medics can spend fully dressed inside the protective zone before they collapse from heat exhaustion."

radio

that is all

Re:one word...

[Anonymous Coward]

Privacy.

That is all.

Shouting patient notes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Really, nobody thought of a better way to keep track of patient notes other than shouting them over a fence? Why not grab two regular old computers with keyboard and monitor, and strung a wire between them, through the fence? (of course taking proper decontamination procedures in mind during the initial installation) Or take something even slightly modern and use wireless.

In between all those stockpiles of medicine, food, fuel, vehicles, equipment, other goods and personnel being shipped to Africa, did no one think that a few solar panels and digital devices might come in handy for communication and patient tracking? Are a keyboard and monitor really so hard to use in a suit? How about, simply, a phone?

It's good that people are trying to improve things, but it just seems to me like a very expensive and roundabout solution to a very simple problem. But of course I may be missing something.

Re: Shouting patient notes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yelling for an hour sounds great.

Re:Shouting patient notes?

[tomstorey]

I think you are missing a lot.

You assume they have regular, reliable utility power, or generators they can run 24/7 in these places to power computers and what not.

Where is this computer to be located? The tablet can be used beside the patient, so you dont have to keep running back and forth to the computer to enter data, and that could be the difference between something being recorded incorrectly or not.

The tablet can also be disinfected by soaking in 0.5% chlorine, you cant do that with most other electronics or the will be ruined.

This tablet can be used in a hazardous environment, disinfected and taken back outside of that environment safely for repairs or to transfer to another location. The whole solution is designed to be re-useable, its not just for ebola.

Re:Shouting patient notes?

[hairyfeet]

But as others pointed out it'll be stolen so fast they'll be lucky to get a week out of 'em when there is a frankly more obvious solution...disposable tablets.

You can buy dual core tablets straight off the boat from China for like $45 and that is single unit prices, and I've seen single core ones go for $27 and again single unit prices. For what they are doing I'm sure they could buy in bulk and I wouldn't be surprised to see 7 inch single core tablets in the $14 or less range and then they can just send the data to a wireless microtower set up outside the zone and if they have to trash 'em or some get stolen...so what?

Waving around expensive tablets in THAT area of the world? Like waving fistloads of cash in the ghetto, they ain't gonna have that for very long, not long at all.

Re:Shouting patient notes?

[tomstorey]

Adding to a culture that is already responsible for enormous amounts of waste... and you want to create more?

Its all well and good that you can buy cheap tablets to just throw away, but how many are going to be needed over the lifetime of an event like this? How often do they need to be cycled, and how much will that cost?

How do you properly and responsibly recycle these disposable tablets after theyve been used? You cant burn them, and they are potentially contaminated so you cant ship them elsewhere to be recycled or give them away or allow them to be recovered for fear of spreading ebola again. Batteries need to be recycled properly, and other materials used have a degree of recyclability which should be respected.

And whos going steal something thats been in an ebola treatment centre anyway?

Any sensible person would probably stay the hell away from it for fear of getting infected. Of course I do use the distinction "sensible person" and many crims dont really fit with that, but Im pretty sure they'd even be a little wise to this.

But if you look at pictures of the tablets, and read about them, these things are quite distinctive, not your generic tablet you could flog at the local pawn shop. Theyve been modified, fitted in to a sealed case, fitted for wireless charging since there cant be any open ports where germs could accumulate or the chlorine solution could leak in to the electronics of the device and ruin it, etc.

Im going on the assumption that a lot of these things have been thought about, including solutions that could well have been easier and cheaper to implement, and they didnt just go with the most elaborate solution for the sake of doing so. What theyve come up with is re-useable, so it doesnt need to be disposable.

Re:Shouting patient notes?

[hairyfeet]

Man you ain't never even dealt with thieves, have you? There was some city laptops here that was street worker ORANGE...guess what? Stupid fucking junkies stole 'em, they ended up being found in some meth dealers house a year to two later loaded with porn.

Thieves are like magpies, does it look expensive and shiny? they are gonna steal 'em, end of story.

Whoa!

[binarybum]

An Ebola proof computer? An anti-virus program that works in tropical climates and even when soaked in bodily fluids?

Must have been developed by John Mcafee.

Interesting mod of a waterproof tablet

[chromaexcursion]

At least one version of the Sony Xperia tablet is waterproof. They also make a waterproof phone.
The issue is chlorine breaks down the the seals. All Google had to do is replace the seals with a chlorine resistant compound.
Xperia have a "glove" mode, so that takes care of that problem.
The result is probably much cheaper than an industrial tablet, or computer.

Tablet doesnt matter...

[Lumpy]

It's the software on it. There are almost no applications for Android that works well in the medical field, all of them are windows based.

They need to design good open source medical software not a ebola proof tablet that can be created in 20 minutes by anyone with a standard Samsung tablet and a waterproofing bag. Oh ebola on the tablet? dip it in this bleach bucket...... NEXT!

ba bum bump

[PopeRatzo]

Can't they just install anti-virus software?

Re:ba bum bump

[rmdingler]

You would think so.

MSF

[ArcadeMan]

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

If you're going to write the name of the organisation, write it correctly.

servers run on battery?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm confused about something in the article. Are the servers running on a battery? Why? Wouldn't it be easier to plug the servers into the 120 volt AC outlet? Or is the outlet not ebola proof? Or am I missing something?

Re:servers run on battery?

[Anne Thwacks]

am I missing something?

Yes. This is in Africa. Any AC supply they do have will be 240V.

And will probably only work for 3 hours a day - most likely the 3 hours you least need it, and quite definitely the 3 hours you least expect it. However, you still have to pay for it for the other 21 hours you did not get it.

This is a combined effect of the afterglow of the colonial era when all forms of organisation were the work of the occupying enemy, and to be resisted at all costs, and modern Islamic teaching that education is a Satanic American plot.

Re: servers run on battery?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yea, those dumb black people would be better off today if they just obeyed the colonial benefactors who came with the intention of spreading peace and love.

Nothing to see, move along.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

It is a small handheld touch screen computer in a plastic shell. It is not a (medicinal) tablet that somehow protects workers from ebola.

Re:Nothing to see, move along.

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah clickbait if i ever saw it - google struggling to be 'progressive' i guess

Ebola-Proof tablet

[CanadianMacFan]

Didn't know tablets could catch Ebola!

Disinfectant proof

[aNonnyMouseCowered]

Rather pointles calling an inorganic object germ-proof, unless we're talking about some genetically engineered supergerm that eats plastic for breakfast.Hell, I can guarantee that my cheap China-branded keyboard is also Ebola-proof. Just don't mail it back to me. Incidentally the fine article makes no mention of Ebola-proof, simply that the tablet is resistant to the common chemicals used to disinfect objects suspected of being contaminated with Ebola. So strictly speaking the tablet is disinfectant/antiseptic proof.

shouting patient notes

[Anonymous Coward]

glass wall + whiteboard marker. If you can read a doctors writing, you should be clever enough to read it backwards

Shout records across the fence, why not WiFi?

[Anonymous Coward]

If one of the challenges to address was passing information across a fence without distributing infected paper, there are many which could have been utilised.
A WiFi link to pass patient records seems the most obvious to tackle the inefficiencies and inaccuracies doctor to doctor passing records verbally

Is the scenario now, 1 doctor inputs records, dunks the tablet in chlorine, passes over the fence?

good on google

[Goldsmith]

There's a small, very important market for computers usable in biohazard situations. It's not easy making something functional that you can also guarantee can be completely disinfected.

Re:good on google

[RockDoctor]

It's not easy making something functional that you can also guarantee can be completely disinfected.

OTOH, it might be easier to make something that is sufficiently functional to take (and transmit to a server, wirelessly) the data and is cheap enough to then be disposable by dumping in the incinerator (bleach pit, or whatever technology is most convenient). For example, a sheet of cellulose-based fibres impregnated with visual prompts and orientation marks on which further marks can be placed as the medic acquires clinical information. Such a sheet can then be held against the screen (behind a sterilisable cover) of an OCR scanner to enter the data into the system.

Yes, "doctor's traditionally abysmal handwriting", but I counter with "most pharmacists have very clear handwriting". It's a training thing - teach doctors to write, while they're in college. All of them.

(Obviously, you can have a human interlocutor on the safe side of the fence to check the information has been scanned correctly ; getting the data corrected is generally easier at the point of collection than later. While that person needs some medical knowledge, they probably don't need more than nursing knowledge.)

Suits?

[Anonymous Coward]

How about a protection suit with built-in cooling, so that doctors and nurses don't faint from heat-strokes?
Is that not 'news for nerds' enough?

I already invented this

[Anonymous Coward]

But for reading in the tub. Disposable, sub $50 grade android tablet, $5 "Qi Charger Adapter" from amazon and five minutes use of the seal-a-meal.

Wheat happens to the old tablets in 5 years time?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hope I do not see THAT tablet second-hand on E-bay some time in the future!