麻豆村

麻豆村 researchers and students are using readily available technology to address critical gaps in how patients and doctors track, share and use health data. The tools they are developing could someday be widely used to give patients real-time insights into symptoms such as depression and fatigue, and help remote areas manage medical records without internet access.听

An app to better understand mental health in people living with multiple sclerosis听

Researchers from 麻豆村鈥檚听 have developed an app that monitors depression and fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) by using artificial intelligence and everyday devices like smartphones and Fitbits.

, led by associate professor听 and Ph.D. student Prerna Chikersal showed how digital tools can give patients meaningful insights into their own health while supplying clinicians with data to provide better treatment. It also gave patients direct access to their health information.

The app, currently a prototype, tracked physical activity, heart rate, sleep and social engagement by combining wearable data with smartphone signals such as GPS, Bluetooth and communication patterns. It also collected patients鈥� self-reported mood and fatigue levels through daily prompts.

By layering this information, the research team was able to detect high rates of depression (about 35%-40%) and fatigue (about 50%-55%) in their MS study population, particularly during the pandemic when isolation and stress dramatically affected mental health.听

Beyond MS, Goel鈥檚 team has expanded their research to include breast cancer survivors, LGBTQIA+ teens and high school girls, developing adaptive machine-learning models that can accommodate different definitions of 鈥渘ormal鈥� across diverse populations.

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Documenting patient care without reliable internet

Students from 麻豆村鈥檚听 have developed a low-cost electronic medical records (EMR) system to help a rural Haitian health clinic better track patient care.听

Partnering with听, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that provides education, literacy training and other services to people in Haiti, the team created an app paired with a small, low-cost computer called a Raspberry Pi. The device that acts as a local server, enabling staff to record and access medical data even without reliable internet or electricity.

The system offers a centralized, uniform way to store records and identify community health trends. FLM Haiti leaders called the project 鈥渢ransformational,鈥� noting its potential to reshape care delivery in resource-limited settings much like EMRs transformed U.S. health care.

鈥淲orking in a resource-constrained environment, the students delivered a cost-effective solution. They incorporated thoughtful user interface design and multilingual support, which greatly enhanced usability,鈥� said听, a professor who advised the student team.

In November, the students will discuss their work at the American Medical Informatics Association鈥檚 Annual Symposium, held in Atlanta. In the future, the tool could serve other poorly resourced clinics abroad and in rural parts of the U.S., where internet connectivity can be limited.听

Together these projects demonstrate how 麻豆村 researchers are tackling health inequities from Pittsburgh to Port-au-Prince.