Digitalization of Medicine in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

This open access book provides a framework to describe why digitalization of the medical provision services is needed and which level of digitalization is possible in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). These countries have traditionally been economically and technologically not ready for digitalization, but with recent progress in digitized data acquisition, machine learning and computing infrastructure, healthcare applications are expanding into areas that were previously thought to be the exclusive domain of human experts. It is increasingly accepted that the transformation in healthcare would not be possible if it is not associated with technological innovations in communication, computing, and analytical processing of biological samples.

However, this need and development is quite different to what has been experienced in high-income countries, as by definition resource-restricted settings have to navigate through a greater number of competing interests and needs, and as such the context into which digital health needs to be adopted and operate varies greatly. For instance, LMIC healthcare finds itself under a twin pressure of traditional healthcare pressures (such as infectious diseases outbreaks) and a growing elderly population with complex comorbidities, and both these aspects needs to be addressed simultaneously.

Digitalization of Medicine in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Paradigm Changes in Healthcare and Biomedical Research provides in-depth understanding of the root causes for the observed differences in digital healthcare implementation in LMICs. Creating a strong foundation of the current trends and perspectives of digital healthcare in general, readers of this book are able to gain an informative account of how digital healthcare has been adapted to the different LMIC contexts in order to create demonstrable and impactful success stories.

Dr. Karine Sargsyan is the Scientific Director of OncoBiobank at the Cancer Center of Cedars Siani Medical Center, CA, USA, and the Managing Director for International Biobanking and Education, Vice Scientific Leader and Lecturer of M.Sc. Biobanking at the Medical University of Graz, Austria. She is skilled in interdisciplinary research, research policy, international research, research organization-management-policy, grant management, clinical research, quality and risk management (particularly in grant-driven environments), and digitalization (including AI and ML) in life sciences, particularly in medicine. She provides scientific expertise and experience as a consultant to several sites and is focused on the future of research and innovation, specifically in innovative technology. 

Her co-editorship of the open-access book Future Intelligence: The World in 2050 showcases Dr. Sargsyan’s expertise in critical areas such as future leadership, global challenges, sustainable lifestyles, disruptive entrepreneurship, and ground-breaking innovations. It adds depth and foresight to the exploration of leadership in the ever-evolving landscape. 

Dr. Karine Sargsyan's extensive peer recognition is evidenced by her role as the elected President of ESBB in 2022-2023, further emphasized through her keynote speeches (over 100) at prominent events. In 2022 and 2023, she addressed the world's future at World Economic Forums DigitalDavos. She emphasized insights into the future of geopolitics, healthcare, education, families, and homes. Additionally, her expertise in navigating the challenges of misinformation in the Digital Age was showcased at another session during Digital.Davos.2022. She is 3 times TEDx speaker with over 150k views. These speaking engagements underscore her authority in envisioning and discussing future scenarios, contributing valuable perspectives to the ongoing dialogue on global challenges and leadership in the coming years. She is an experienced Managing Director for the scientific environment with an Honorary Doctor and Visiting Professor recognition from her alma mater.

Dr. Zisis Kozlakidis is the Head of Laboratory Services and Biobanking at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization (IARC/WHO). He is responsible for one of the largest and most varied international collections of clinical samples in the world, focusing on gene–environment interactions and disease-based collections. He serves currently as board member of the pan-EU biomolecular infrastructure BBMRI-ERIC; as scientific advisor to the national Health-Research Infrastructure in the Netherlands and the PTEN Research Foundation; and as EOSC co-chair on digitally ‘Upskilling countries’. Dr. Kozlakidis has significant expertise in the field of biobanking and has served as President of ISBER, and as board member.

Dr. Kozlakidis is a virologist, with a PhD in microbiology from Imperial College London. He is an elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, the Royal Academy of Sciences, UK, and a Turnberg Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences. Dr Kozlakidis has contributed to seminal studies in the adoption of innovations into routine healthcare in the UK, and their associated financial impacts. He holds visiting faculty positions in China (Medical School, South Central University), Belgium (Public Health School, Université Libre de Bruxelles) and the UK (St. George’s Medical School, University of London and Bayes Business School, City University of London).

Armen Muradyan, MD, PhD, DSc, is the Rector of Yerevan State Medical University, the largest medical university and healthcare institution in Armenia, and a Professor of Medicine. He is the former Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia. In the past he was the Chief of the Clinic of Urology at the Armenia Republican Medical Center, Chairman and Founder of the Department of Urology at YSMU, Adviser to the Minister of Health, Chief Urologist of Armenia, First Deputy Director of the National Oncology Center of Armenia, CEO of the Izmirlyan Medical Center. 

Prof. Muradyan was the President of the Armenian Association of Urology and t^100 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is a recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, among them Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" from the President of the Republic of Armenia, “Medal after Nikolay Lopatkin” awarded by the President of Urologists’ Association, YSMU Gold Medal. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Academician of RAS, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation. He is one of the leading specialists in the Russian Federation in the field of diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases. Throughout the scientific and therapeutic activity, Andrey Kaprin conducts a purposeful development of modern methods of surgical and combined treatment of kidney, bladder, prostate and other localizations.

Since 2014, Andrey Kaprin leads the first Russian scientific medical cluster in the field of oncology - the Federal State Budgetary Institution "National Medical Research Radiological Centre" of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation,which was established on the basis of three leading medical centers - P. Herzen, A.Tsyb MRRC, and N. Lopatkin Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology. At present, being the head of the NMRRC of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, being an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences in oncoradiology, he supervises the development of nuclear medicine, radiology and radiotherapy in our country. He has taken charge of most complex and promising areas in the industry: the technical re-equipment of the radiation therapy departments of the regions, the creation of a program and a center for the development of contact methods of irradiation, the introduction and expansion of the first national medical proton center in the country, the introduction of modern methods of training specialists in radiology and radiotherapy, iIncluding telecommunication training and master classes in the regions, many of which are conducted by himself. Every year Andrey Kaprin performs over 300 complex surgical interventions for various oncological diseases. He has trained more than 300 doctors, including residents and graduate students. Under his leadership, 27 dissertations for the degree of candidate of medical sciences and 9 doctoral dissertations were prepared and successfully defended. The result of many years of hard work was the publication of more than 700 printed scientific works.