DigitalNeurosurgeon.com

Only 1 week after my first post on a new iPhone app on safe surgery, I was ready to submit it to the App Store. Not celebrating the Dutch carnival provided enough time to finish development and testing.

My new application is based on the Safe Surgery Saves Lifes checklist from the World Health Organization (WHO). A very nice read on the subject is provided in Dr Atul Gawande’s new book: The Checklist Manifesto. Scientific background is provided in the New England Journal of Medicine.

(click for more info)

I submitted version 1.0 to the App Store on February 15, 2010. Normally, it should take between 3-7 days before you can download it (for free!) in the App Store.

I couldn’t resist the temptation of creating a simple no-nonsense surgical checklist for the iPhone. I searched the App Store, and I could only find Safe OR from QxMD. Although I think that QxMD is making pretty cool medical software for mobile devices, their surgical checklist is -in my humble opinion- overpaid, and unnecessarily complicated.

So I think I can do better? Yes, I can! And it won’t even take that much time. I started creating the graphical user interface based on the official WHO checklist, and decided that scrolling is not the way to go. I think that each section can fit into one screen, like:

(click for large version)

Of course, this is rather rudimentary. The layout definitely needs some improvement (read: alignment) and some details. Then I will add some functionality. I do have a nice idea for a practical solution that Safe OR does not offer -as far as I know- but I don’t know if I will include it in the first version of Safe Surgery.

I’d say… I’ll keep you posted!

A new version of the NeuroMind iPhone app has been released (now version 0.8). Some new scores have been added, like the CHADS2. Most important, the core content of the WHO Safe Surgery checklist has been added. The items are available in three separate screens (Before Anaesthesia, Before Skin Incision, and Before Leaving The Operating Room) for easy reading. After rotation to landscape mode, the device automatically shows the full checklist.

Here are some screenshots (click for large version):

The official release (of version 1.0) is expected in first or second quarter of 2010.