Sana Telemedicine Platform

2009 tags: health open-source

Sana Telemedicine Platform

Sana is open-source telemedicine software for Android. It allows field workers to treat or triage patients using simple workflows encoded on Android devices to gather data and send them to doctors (typically a partner hospital) over mobile networks. Doctors can review the uploaded data (pictures, text, audio, video, gps, ECG, pulse oximetry, etc.) and make recommendations and requests for more data.

I was primarily responsible for the client and server side components of Sana, as well as integration of Sana with OpenMRS — a freely available, electronic medical record system. I also integrated Sana with a bluetooth enabled electrocardiogram device for Sana’s cardiovascular health pilot in India.

I started the project with Zack Anderson in 2009 (originally called Moca) and it has taken on a life of its own since then. Implementation, deployment, and research using the Sana platform is now driven by the Clinical Decision Making Group at MIT CSAIL. There is a Sana class taught at MIT: HST.936: Global Health Informatics to Improve Quality of Care.