News Release: March 9, 2014 Smartphone app reads blood oxygen levels, capitalized with new S2 million Canadian private -public investment, device could save lives of women and children in low-resource countries Major new investment in LGTmedical’s Phone Oximeter™ will advance it towards developing world use Government of Canada S1 million investment, part of new S10 million partnership with Grand Challenges Canada to accelerate scale up of promising global health innovations. Private and public investors are injecting S2 million into a Canadian mobile health innovation that offers hope of preventing thousands of deaths and improving the health of expectant mothers, newborns and children throughout the developing world. LionsGate Technologies (LGTmedical), a Vancouver based social enterprise, has secured its first major financial backers to scale up development of the Phone Oximeter™, an app and medical sensor that turns a non-specialist, community-level health worker’s smartphone, tablet computer or laptop into an affordable and simple but sophisticated medical-grade diagnostic tool, which is currently typically available in the developing world only in some hospitals. The device measures blood oxygen levels through a light sensor attached to a person's fingertip. This technique is known as pulse oximetry. The Phone Oximeter™, using a predictive score, can accurately identify an estimated 80% of cases of pregnant women at risk of life-threatening complications resulting from high blood pressure. The condition, pre-eclampsia, is one of three leading causes of maternal mortality. an issue of social justice,” said Dr. von Dadelszen. The Phone Oximeter™ can also reveal dangerously low oxygen levels in patients with pneumonia, which kills more than 1 million children annually. The S40 target price will make it 80% less costly than any other current device capable of meeting high-level medical standards. For a 4 page pdf news release with links see: http://bit.ly/1gcNan2 (http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit%2Ely%2F1gcNan2&urlhash=3mzf&_t=tracking_anet) Posted by Sam Lanfranco Access CANCHID archives at: https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/canchid.html plus CANCHID subscription management. CANCHID is a joint service of the Canadian Society for International Health < http:www.csih.org > and the Distributed Knowledge Project (York University). Queries to Sam Lanfranco <[log in to unmask]>