AFRICA – Philips Foundation, Philips and RAD-AID International have entered into a multi-year cross-continental partnership to promote access to diagnostic ultrasound services in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania.

Philips Foundation and RAD-AID International will leverage Philips’ expertise in mobile ultrasound services to improve access to virtual care in line with Philips Foundation’s mission to provide access to quality healthcare for 100 million people a year in underserved communities by 2030.

The multi-year initiative aims to reach around 50 million people across Africa, Asia, North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean including Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Kenya, Laos, Nepal, Malawi, Tanzania, and the United States.

“During the project’s initial phase, RAD-AID International is deploying the model in the first five high-impact regional sites. Learnings from phase-one deployment will help Philips Foundation and RAD-AID International co-create new educational strategies for second-phase deployment,” the Foundation said.

Philips Foundation, Philips and RAD-AID International all have a track record of improving access to ultrasound by training local health workers for instance, in recent years, Philips Foundation has developed several innovative models to address various gaps in access to ultrasound solutions.

In addition, RAD-AID International will leverage the virtual care capabilities of Philips ultrasound solutions to provide a highly scalable, remote ‘train-the-trainer’ model to improve access to diagnostic and point-of-care ultrasound through curriculum-based education and clinical hands-on teaching.

With Philips ultrasound solutions, ultrasound experts will be able to communicate with training program participants miles away via voice, video and text messages, view the ultrasound images taken in real time, and remotely demonstrate equipment settings during guided ultrasound exams if necessary.

“By adopting a ‘train-the-trainer’ model, first-generation healthcare workers can contribute to the education of the next generation of ultrasound practitioners,” said Daniel J. Mollura, President and CEO of RAD-AID International.

President Daniel J. Mollura noted that the innovative and ambitious initiative has a remarkable reach, and is both sustainable and scalable.

He further expressed RAD-AID International’s readiness and willingness to working with the Philips Foundation in the coming years to improve the lives of millions of people through real-time ultrasound education and remote support.

“Despite the well-known benefits of early detection and timely treatment, diagnostic imaging is not available in many rural and remote areas where resources are scarce,” said Margot Cooijmans, Director of the Philips Foundation.

Under the collaboration with RAD-AID International, Philips Foundation will offer equipment and enable remote training in ten underserved areas, with a clear focus on increasing the number of patients who benefit from remote access to professional radiologists.

In addition, the Director of the Philips Foundation underscored that enhancing technology to improve healthcare for underserved populations defines the recent collaboration and is at the heart of the Foundation’s mission.

Liked this article? Sign up to receive our regular email newsletters, focused on Africa and World’s healthcare industry, directly into your inbox. SUBSCRIBE HERE