The Role of Image Quality in Telehealth: Adoption Challenges in the Subcontinent

Background: The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying challenges in the telehealth environment in India and Pakistan that impede the delivery of high-quality images between a patient and health care professional. Method: An exploratory study was conducted among healthcare professionals in India and Pakistan to assess their perceptions regarding image quality, which is used for the diagnosis and treatment decision making. This cross-sectional qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals in both India and Pakistan. Results: The interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis, which revealed three major themes. These themes being: ICT infrastructure and connectivity, expertise of persons taking images, and multiple transmission degrading image quality. Conclusions: Findings indicate that in both countries, the main underlying challenge is the lack of consistency in the network infrastructure between urban, rural and remote areas. Additionally, training patients to use hand-held devices to take high-quality images could hold the key to improving the reliability and, consequently, the quality of images transmitted between patients and health care professionals

Multiplexed profiling of extracellular vesicles for biomarker development

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membranous particles that play a crucial role in molecular trafficking, intercellular transport and the egress of unwanted proteins. They have been implicated in many diseases including cancer and neurodegeneration. EVs are detected in all bodily fluids, and their protein and nucleic acid content offers a means of assessing the status of the cells from which they originated. As such, they provide opportunities in biomarker discovery for diagnosis, prognosis or the stratification of diseases as well as an objective monitoring of therapies. The simultaneous assaying of multiple EV-derived markers will be required for an impactful practical application, and multiplexing platforms have evolved with the potential to achieve this. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview of the currently available multiplexing platforms for EV analysis, with a primary focus on miniaturized and integrated devices that offer potential step changes in analytical power, throughput and consistency