Charles Owusu Aseku has had a large growth of tissue called a keloid on his neck since 2002. He has spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to put an end to his suffering, and he's had two operations to remove the keloid that were not successful, as it's come back. Aseku is hoping to finally cure his condition. Now, he's taking part in Ghana's first ever live trials of Microsoft’s 3D-telemedicine technology. 3D cameras capture his image from every angle which can be transmitted live to doctors anywhere in the world. “Normally when you go to a hospital you will see only one doctor there. But I’ve seen a lot of doctors here and because of that, I’m very happy to see a lot of doctors, because experience will come from each of them, and maybe they will find a solution to my problem,” says Aseku.
As this is a trial, doctors are stationed nearby in a building as they look at a 3D image of Aseku. In its real-life application, 3D telemedicine could facilitate pre and post-operative consultations entirely remotely. And it gives patients the opportunity to have multiple opinions; Aseku’s session has attending doctors from Rwanda, Scotland and Brazil. “This can come to my house, to do this for me. In Ghana, this is my first time. Because I’ve been to all the big hospitals in Ghana here, because of this, my issue. All the big doctors, and some in African countries. And I’ve not seen some of these things before. So if the government can come and help us to bring this kind of technology to our doorsteps, I think it will help us," he says. It also gives patients in rural areas the chance to get follow up care without spending large amounts of money just getting to their appointments.
George Opoku, a 68-year-old farmer from a village called Akyem Pameng in Ghana’s Eastern Region, was referred to Accra’s Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital after he came to Koforidua Regional Hospital with a sarcoma in his armpit. He lives just a couple hours away from the Koforidua hospital, but traveling to Korle-Bu would take many more hours and require an overnight stay. After his doctor heard about the 3D telemedicine trial, he decided to take part. “I was happy that I didn’t have to travel all the way to Korle-Bu because it would have been expensive, especially with transportation and accommodation,” he says. For patients needing reconstructive care, like Aseku and Opoku, 3D telemedicine gives their doctors a chance to see the growths that are causing them problems and plan surgical care.
Once surgery has been carried out, it gives them a chance to follow up and monitor healing. Spencer Fowers, principal engineer with the Microsoft 3D telemedicine project, hopes the trial can show the feasibility of 3D telemedicine in Ghana, and eventually lead to it being implemented in other African countries, too. “You can rotate the person, you can look at them from any angle, and then you can actually – the doctors in this case – can draw on them, and indicate what they’re going to do. So it allows them to perform a pre or post-surgical consult without actually having to travel,” he says.
Ahensan Dasebre is the senior resident at the National Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre at Korle-Bu. He is not involved with the 3D telemedicine project, but believes that projects like it should be encouraged. “We are already behind in terms of how many doctors are available to care for a certain number of the population,” he says. “If somebody is in a remote part of town where he doesn’t have access to these specialised services, but needs it, the referring doctor could actually use this telemedicine thing to get access to the best of care.” No matter how remote the patient, if a van with this tech can get to them, they can speak to the best specialists anywhere in the world.