GeaCom has conducted a field trial of its new multilingual communication device, Phrazer, is a handheld, interactive system that enables the collection and delivery of critical information between patients and caregivers, regardless of differences in language, culture or literacy.
GeaCom team members accompanied Mayo Clinic medical students and physicians to rural Honduras to partake in the trial between 17-24 February 2011.
Using a sequence of interactive video questions, Phrazers gathered critical information from patients including their primary concerns and symptoms.
The devices then provided an English summary of the information to the clinicians who were treating the patients.
Many of the physicians and students examining the patients had only a limited knowledge of Spanish, so a summary in English proved to be a valuable piece of information in assessing and treating the patients involved in the trial.
This brigade to Honduras was conducted through Global Medical Brigades, an organization whose mission is to provide sustained healthcare to underserved communities throughout the world.
Phrazer was also used as a supplement to the brigade’s Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) station.
The aim of this portion of the brigade is to empower individuals, families and communities to prevent some of the more common illnesses found in rural Honduras.
More than 50 children interacted with a Phrazer device by watching educational videos about personal hygiene, oral hygiene and/or basic first aid.