Considering Pigeons for Carrying Delay Tolerant Networking based Internet traffic in Developing Countries

There are many regions in the developing world that suffer from poor infrastructure and lack of connection to the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is a technology that has been advocated for providing store-and-forward network connectivity in these regions over the past few years. DTN often relies on human mobility in one form or another to support transportation of DTN data. This presents a socio-technical problem related to organizing how the data should be transported. In some situations the demand for DTN traffic can exceed that which is possible to support with human mobility, so alternative mechanisms are needed. In this paper we propose using live carrier pigeons (columba livia) to transport DTN data. Carrier pigeons have been used for transporting packets of information for a long time, but have not yet been seriously considered for transporting DTN traffic. We provide arguements that this mode of DTN data transport provides promise, and should receive attention from research and development projects. We provide an overview of pigeon characteristics to analyze the feasibility of using them for data transport, and present simulations of a DTN network that utilizes pigeon transport in order to provide an initial investigation into expected performance characteristics

An analysis of approaches for developing national health information systems : a case study of two sub-Saharan African countries.

Master of Science in Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2016.Health information systems in sub-Saharan African countries are currently characterized by significant fragmentation, duplication and limited interoperability. Incorporating these disparate systems into a coherent national health information system has the potential to improve operational efficiencies, decision-making and planning across the health sector. In a recent study, Coiera analysed several mature national health information systems in high income countries and categorised a topology of the approaches for building them as: top-down, bottom-up or middle-out. Coeria gave compelling arguments for countries to adopt a middle-out approach. Building national health information systems in sub-Saharan African countries pose unique and complex challenges due to the substantial difference between the socio-economic, political and health landscapes of these countries and high income countries. Coiera’s analysis did not consider the unique challenges faced by sub-Saharan African countries in building their systems. Furthermore, there is currently no framework for analysing high-level approaches for building NHIS. This makes it difficult to establish the benefits and applicability of Coiera’s analysis for building NHIS in sub-Saharan African countries. The aim of this research was to develop and apply such a framework to determine which approach in Coiera’s topology, if any, showed signs of being the most sustainable approach for building effective national health information systems in sub-Saharan African countries. The framework was developed through a literature analysis and validated by applying it in case studies of the development of national health information systems in South Africa and Rwanda. The result of applying the framework to the case studies was a synthesis of the current evolution of these systems, and an assessment of how well each approach in Coiera’s topology supports key considerations for building them in typical sub-Saharan African countries. The study highlights the value of the framework for analysing sub-Saharan African countries in terms of Coiera’s topology, and concludes that, given the peculiar nature and evolution of national health information systems in sub-Saharan African countries, a middle-out approach can contribute significantly to building effective and sustainable systems in these countries, but its application in sub-Saharan African countries will differ significantly from its application in high income countries

Entwicklung, Aufbau und Betrieb einer telemetrischen Plattform zur Therapieüberwachung am Beispiel der Hämophilie

Ubiquitäres Computing aufgrund von High-Speed-Internet und mobilen Geräten ermöglicht grundlegende neue Möglichkeiten für das Gesundheitswesen. Patienten mit seltenen chronischen Erkrankungen, die häufig weit entfernt vom medizinischen Behandlungszentrum leben, profitieren dabei besonders von der Telemedizin und dem Telemonitoring. Diese Arbeit beschreibt in diesem Zusammenhang unter anderem die Erfahrungen bei der Entwicklung, dem Test, der Implementierung und dem Betrieb einer telemetrischen Plattform am Beispiel der Hämophilie. Dabei stehen funktionale und nicht-funktionale Anforderungen bei der Entwicklung mobiler Anwendungen, die im Gesundheitswesen eingesetzt werden, im Fokus. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen einerseits die Barrieren, Herausforderungen und Anforderungen für die Entwicklung von telemetrischen Plattformen, andererseits dass die Verwendung von adäquater Technologie die Gesundheitskosten senken, Patienten sich schnell an Telemonitoring-Systeme gewöhnen und sich die Lebensqualität des Nutzers wesentlich erhöht