LWAs computational platform for e-consultation using mobile devices: Cases from developing nations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mobile devices have been impacting on human standard of living by providing timely and accurate information anywhere and anytime through wireless media in developing nations. Shortage of experts in medical fields is very obvious throughout the whole world but more pronounced in developing nations. OBJECTIVE: Thus, this study proposes a telemedicine platform for the vulnerable areas of developing nations. The vulnerable area are the interior with little or no medical facilities, hence the dwellers are very susceptible to sicknesses and diseases. METHODS: The framework uses mobile devices that can run LightWeight Agents (LWAs) to send consultation requests to a remote medical expert in urban city from the vulnerable interiors. The feedback is conveyed to the requester through the same medium. The system architecture which contained AgenRoller, LWAs, The front-end (mobile devices) and back-end (the medical server) is presented. The algorithm for the software component of the architecture (AgenRoller) is also presented. The system is modeled as M/M/1/c queuing system, and simulated using Simevents from MATLAB Simulink environment. RESULT: The simulation result presented show the average queue length, the number of entities in the queue and the number of entities departure from the system. These together present the rate of information processing in the system. CONCLUSION: A full scale development of this system with proper implementation will help extend the few medical facilities available in the urban cities in developing nations to the interiors thereby reducing the number of casualties in the vulnerable areas of the developing world especially in Sub Saharan Africa.