Health Care in Developing World to Benefit from New Diagnostic Software Solution

CHICAGO—June, 20, 2005—Today at The Rotary Convention in Chicago, not-for-profit organization Robertson Research Institute (RRI) will name the Dominican Republic as the launch market for its innovative software solution InfoDx®. Providing free, portable, and current medical information to developing communities, InfoDx will allow health care professionals, missionaries and other care givers to immediately access diagnostic information in remote locations enabling a faster and more accurate diagnosis of patients.

InfoDx stores information on hundreds of chronic and acute diseases in its database, as well as detailed emergency and preventative care information, bringing life-saving knowledge to the user’s fingertips. The easy-to-use drop down menus and input screens provide an intuitive, efficient way for health care providers to input the patient’s symptoms and examination results, which the software uses to suggest the most likely diagnoses with the reported data in common. Once the clinician chooses the most appropriate diagnosis, InfoDx will provide the user with recommended treatment options.

For further information, contact mbates@robertsoninstitute.org

“As a practicing physician in an underserved community, the potential of InfoDx to improve the quality of health care is truly significant,” said Dr. Fabio Montesino, a clinician in the Dominican Republic. “This kind of mobile, intelligent solution can help us move beyond the current limitations that we face, due primarily to lack of resources and training, and enable us to provide better care to our patients."

The developing world faces health care challenges including inadequate or untimely access to medical information, lack of skill or experience on the part of the caregiver, and textbook treatment suggestions that require resources unavailable to rural areas. There is an immediate need for a technology solution like InfoDx when you consider that:

* The physician-to-patient ratio in East Africa is 1 to 6,700, and 1 to 37,960 in Zimbabwe, compared to 1 physician to 407 people in the Western World * Of 15 million children who die annually, 98% live in the developing world; an estimated two-thirds of those deaths are preventable * Health related websites have no value to remote locations with no online access. In Africa, phone lines are down 50% of the time and three-minute calls cost $23.00

Designed to operate on state-of-the-art Tablet PC and Pocket PC platforms, using Microsoft’s agile .NET technology, InfoDx is easily integrated into a wide range of medical environments and supports the mobile needs of health care workers in many communities. The stand-alone design can be updated annually through the distribution of a CD or memory chip, and via an internet connection if available. RRI is exploring distribution and funding opportunities with aid organizations including The Rotary Club and International Aid, in an effort to expand the reach and impact of its solution.

“The health care community around the globe is embracing technology that improves patient safety and the quality of care, through innovations that increase caregiver productivity, collaboration and satisfaction,” said Dr. Bill Crounse, Global Healthcare Industry Manager, Microsoft Healthcare and Life Sciences. “Recognizing that health care workers face many of the same challenges around the world, InfoDx is using Microsoft’s proven and adaptive technology to offer under-served health care providers an innovative and highly intuitive solution that will ultimately save lives.”

InfoDx was designed to allow easy translation into many languages. It can switch languages “on-the-fly” allowing the clinician and patient to interact and overcome communication barriers. Robertson Research is targeting a broad roll-out to additional developing countries in June 2006 and, pending additional funding, will expand its reach with the additions of Spanish and French language capabilities in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

“The delivery of health care in many developed countries depends increasingly on leveraging technology to access information – a luxury that is lacking in remote locations that are often unreachable even by phone,” said Dr. Joel Robertson, CEO and Founder of the Robertson Research Institute. “With the development of InfoDx we are offering a truly global medical solution that can overcome cultural boundaries to enable better patient care regardless of the level of medical resources available.”

About RRI

Robertson Research Institute (RRI) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization focused on saving lives through leading edge applications of life sciences technology. Formed in 2002 by Dr. Joel C. Robertson, RRI is dedicated to the research and development of brain chemistry technology and medical decision support software. Committed to the distribution of medical technology to developing countries on a no fee basis, RRI seeks tax deductible contributions to fund operating expenses, achieve language conversions and maintain medical knowledge and technological advancements.