Mobile OCT and Partners Awarded First Prize in Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Award
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 30, 2014 -- The Vodafone America Foundation has awarded $300,000 for the collaborative development and testing of a smartphone-based cervical cancer diagnostic tool by Mobile OCT, Scripps Health, the International Community Foundation (ICF) and Fronteras Unidas Pro Salud.
Vodafone America presented the team’s first place award as part of their 2014 Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project™ competition on May 29 at the Social Innovation Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Scripps Clinic gynecologist Bruce Kahn, M.D., will lead testing efforts through Scripps in San Diego and Fronteras Unidas Pro Salud in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The International Community Foundation will serve as the project’s fiscal sponsor and provide additional technical expertise given the foundation’s previous involvement in a multi-year mobile health clinical study in Tijuana.
Cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer death for women in low-resource settings, worldwide. In the developed world, women ages 21 to65 undergo routine cervical cancer screening (known as a Pap test) at their gynecologist or gynecological clinic. According to the American Association of Family Physicians, approximately 55 million women each year have a Pap test in the US, and approximately 4 million women each year have an abnormal result. Women with abnormal Pap tests return for a colposcopy, in which the cervix is examined microscopically and biopsies are performed. Treatment, if necessary, can then be provided. However, it is estimated by the World Health Organization that 85% of women worldwide do not have adequate access to any cervical cancer screening. About 473,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, and 253,500 will die from the disease. However, because cervical cancer usually takes 20 years to develop it can be treated before it becomes life threatening for less than $28 and in just a few minutes.
“Thanks to the support of Vodafone, our team is positioned to demonstrate the potential of using mobile health solutions to offer cost effective, life-saving diagnostics to the billions of women around the world without access to good reproductive health services,” said Ariel Beery, CEO of MobileOCT.
“Through efforts like this one, Scripps is playing a leading role in translating the latest medical technologies into high-quality, cost-effective diagnostic tools and treatments,” Dr. Kahn said. “I am privileged to be a part of this outstanding partnership.”
“The International Community Foundation looks forward to collaborating with MobileOCT, Scripps and Fronteras Unidas Pro Salud in this innovative cross-border clinical effort. The multi-sector collaboration exemplifies the way in which the organizations are working together to advance our common commitment to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer in the San Diego-Tijuana border region and around the world,” said Richard Kiy, president of ICF.
About MobileOCT
MobileOCT uses mobile phones to detect cancer. As a biophotonics startup dedicated to providing low-cost cancer screening technologies and enhancements to existing optical systems, MobileOCT’s first application focuses on cervical cancer screening, to help health care providers defeat cervical cancer, and next products will include mobile phone based cancer screening tools for skin, oral, and anal cancers. For more information: a
About Scripps Health
Founded in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health is a nonprofit integrated health system based in San Diego, Calif. Scripps treats a half-million patients annually through the dedication of 2,600 affiliated physicians and 13,750 employees among its five acute-care hospital campuses, home health care services, and an ambulatory care network of physician offices and 26 outpatient centers and clinics.
Recognized as a leader in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, Scripps is also at the forefront of clinical research, genomic medicine and wireless health care. With three highly respected graduate medical education programs, Scripps is a longstanding member of the Association of American Medical Colleges. In 2014, Truven Health Analytics named Scripps one of the top five large health systems in the nation for the third year, and Scripps is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the nation’s best hospitals. Scripps is regularly recognized by Fortune, Working Mother magazine and AARP as one of the best places in the nation to work. For more information: http://www.scripps.org.
About Fronteras Unidas Pro Salud
Fronteras Unidas Pro Salud is a Tijuana based nonprofit is dedicated to providing reproductive health focused care to under-served and marginalized communities in the State of Baja California. For more information: http://www.pro-salud.org/portal/index.php
About the International Community Foundation
Established in 1990, the International Community Foundation’s mission is to expand charitable giving among U.S. donors internationally with an emphasis in Mexico and Latin America. In fiscal year 2013, the Foundation made grants totaling over $5.2 million to nonprofit organization in the areas of education, health, environment and community development. For more information: http://www.icfdn.org
Ariel Beery, MobileOCT, http://www.mobileoct.com/, +1 646-360-0789, [email protected]
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