Google and tech volunteers develop 'Ebola-proof' tablet

onnaedo

March 20, 2015 1:24 PM

The device was developed to help medics caring for patients with Ebola and can be used even wearing gloves and in storms and high humidity.

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Technology volunteers and Google have joined forces to develop a tablet device that can withstand a chlorine bath, BBC reports.

Medical group, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors with Borders) had put out a call for an Ebola-proof tablet to help teams record vital patient information.

Reports say at the height of the current outbreak, doctors were shouting patient notes across fences to avoid contamination.

Ebola is a highly infectious disease and even a single piece of paper leaving a high-risk zone poses a risk of passing on the infection.

To alleviate the challenge doctors were facing, a group of international tech volunteers came together, including Pim de Witte of Whitespell and Daniel Cunningham at Hack4Good and were later joined by Google.

The tablet which has "industrial level" waterproof casing can be dunked in 0.5% chlorine solution which kills Ebola. But if used on unprotected hands this strength of chlorine could cause chemical burns.

In addition to charging quickly and wirelessly by being placed on a table, the sharp edges of the tablet were also removed so that protective clothing would not be pierced.

The device which has been tested at MSF treatment centres in Sierra Leone, would be to track a patient's progress - comparing pulse, temperature and other results over time.

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