Can Digital Health Go Off-Grid And Still Save Lives?

What would you do without your smartphone or laptop for a week? Some cannot even imagine putting them down for a second, not thinking much of the vulnerability of our entire digital existence. What if a hurricane destroys the electric grid? What if power supplies will get cut off by unstoppable rain? What about a future dystopic scenario with our traditional energy sources depleted due to overconsumption? And what if we just look at less fortunate parts of the world where stable electricity service is a rare treasure? We collected some examples of how medicine could become more independent from the traditional electricity system – through the power of the Sun. Keep your heads up, sustainability in healthcare is coming! Addicted to electricity The basis for all healthcare technology is electricity. Well, the very foundation of every other technology as well. In the developed world, we are addicted to electricity on the level of the individual and the entire society. We cannot imagine a day without smartphones, laptops, or TV screens anymore. As our homes become wired up more and more with every passing day, we might soon add smart refrigerators, smart mirrors, or intelligent heating systems to the list, too. However, our bigger systems, such as healthcare, transportation, industrial production or education are also powered by ‘artificial lightning’. Moreover, in the last couple of years, our lives became as heavily reliant on energy sources, most of all electricity...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Future of Medicine Africa asia Caribbean development digital digital health Healthcare smartphone solar sustainability technology Source Type: blogs