Medical mobile technology 'will evolve faster in emerging markets'

"What you will have are semi-skilled health professionals who will go out into the real world with phones to do the data connection. The diagnosis will subsequently be fed through to medical providers who will be able to bring in treatment or dispatch for treatment without the need for the patient to visit a hospital or clinic."

"It is going to be a very efficient way to manage health," he explained, adding that only at a later stage will the technology evolve in developed markets. Rubenstein cited the developed world's high-level regulatory system as a barrier. "Today if you do diagnoses, the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) will consider the phone a medical device and that would need to be overseen." The required legal process is lengthy and subject to a number of ongoing reviews that usually take years, although independent research already confirms mobile medical detections are four times more effective for sensing cardiac conditions.

'All sorts of devices set to emerge'

Titled 'Wireless is the Biggest Tech Platform in History. Now What?' Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs told a Silicon Valley audience his firm is in the process of building the bodily sensory devices for both medical and non-medical use: "The Nike iPod was the first man-machine symbiotic connection - and I think that is the beginning. There are all sorts of devices set to emerge."

Medical aid schemes, African governments and the World Health Organisation are likely contenders to use the technology to improve diagnoses and provision; their response to Qualcomm's most recent announcement will be watched closely in the coming days.

"We talked to insurance companies (in the US) who said it costs US$3000 (about R21 000) per year to manage diabetes: if they allow the condition to deteriorate, that is around US$45 000 (about R320 000)," pointed out Jacobs. He added that although the figures were rough estimates, they highlighted the major savings incentive to the launch of medical diagnoses applications for cell phones.

Having predicted a decade ago that wireless would have far greater impact than the wired Internet, Paul Jacobs' earlier insights have lent him the kind of credibility that now holds the ear of industry leaders. Businesses, governments and NGOs on the continent are now uniquely positioned to increase the roll-out of urgently needed healthcare for medical conditions across a continent that has a high mobile penetration and rapidly increasing levels of mobile sophistication, notably amongst the lower income and illiterate segments of African societies who still constitute a majority of users.

Developing world could lead the way

The company certainly holds the capacity for some big moves in the world's markets. The San Diego-based Qualcomm is now shipping about a million wireless semiconductors daily, making it the world's top supplier of chipsets for the mobile industry. Just two weeks ago, the firm announced an agreement with DStv Mobile in Cape Town to provide its Magic LinkT service for DStv Mobile. The move allows local DStv to promote its content on social networks, without having to create individual links or content for each separate device or platform.

Both Rubenstein and Jacobs highlighted their belief that the next major developments would occur in the developing world first, meaning Qualcomm's ongoing involvement in Africa is set to increase. The firm is certain it can advance major market share on the continent through breakthroughs such as mobile medical technology and television.

Rubenstein says he remains steadfast about his belief in the potential of mobile TV, highlighting that there is a need to run live programmes and ensure the rest is cached to ensure higher speeds.

A mobile-led revolution in health and access to media

While South African internet users may complain of slow internet, he noted that bandwidth remained a problem around the world for users in the United States who too have complained about problems receiving video.

Content rights - "a pain the rear for people trying to do something new" - are also an added issue, due in part to the processes for securing the rights to content. With the DStv agreement, that problem has largely receded for South African users.

The remaining issue under review is battery life. "You get through three quarters of the day and realise you have to recharge," Rubenstein explained, saying the challenge confronts both mobile TV and mobile medical diagnoses.

However, Jacobs, who has led the field of mobile communications for close on two decades, interjected, saying that the industry is in "transition" when it comes to the development of technology for longer battery times over the next five years.

If Jacobs' analysis is as accurate, as were his earlier pronouncements on the role of mobile phones in society today, the last major challenge confronting an unparalleled advance in the medical and media fields is set to give way to a mobile-led revolution in health and access to media. This time, it's the developed world that set to follow suit on what happens in the emerging markets.