To strengthen the skills of neuroimaging professionals in Laos
Main beneficiary country:Laos
Association pour la Promotion des Neurosciences au Laos
Composed of neurologists, neuropaediatricians and neuroradiologists, the Association for the Promotion of Neuroscience in Laos (APNL) has been providing neurology training in Laos since 2005, in partnership with the University of Health Sciences of Laos.
Sector: Health: Healthcare professionals and structures
Country of origin: France
Healthcare themes targeted
Stage of development:
Area where initiative is utilised
Initiative start date
Initiative end date
Financing method
Economic model(s)
The shortage of Lao radiologists is compensated by the tele-expertise of neuro-imaging thanks to Smartphone applications.
Tele-expertise by smartphone application brings added value through the ease of use and speed of the procedure, despite the distance.
Mittaphab Hospital in Vientiane acquired an MRI machine in November 2014 and opened a Neurology Department in June 2015. Due to the increase in the number of neurological patients, Lao radiologists very quickly found themselves in difficulty regarding the interpretion of MRI scans. In order to meet the demand, the association has been providing annual neuroimaging training since 2016. Between on-site duties, the APNL processes MRI files transmitted by WhatsApp smartphone applications by tele-expertise.
In 2018, twenty-six cases were resolved in this way. These included those of 14 men and 12 women. The ages ranged from 1 year to 80 years : 7 patients aged 1-20 years, 8 patients aged 21-40 years, 7 patients aged 41-60 years and 4 over 60 years. All cases were resolved within 24 hours, 22 of which were dealt with within 12 hours.
Health professional training - Telemedicine (remote diagnosis and consultations)
50 Number of beneficiaries since launch
3 Number of users per Month
No
No
No
Yes
auto-evaluated or evaluated by a related organization
Follow us