Pocket Brain Surgeon

Client: Michael Gifford, Obex Technologies <m.j.gifford@mountainhare.com>

Brain surgery is difficult, but some procedures are quite routine. The surgeon could have an Android app with some understanding of the different options at each step of the procedure, that would advise on the best option at each step, based on statistical likelihood of success. The necessary raw data for these decisions is probably available in national data archives such as the UK Shunt Registry in Cambridge. However, this data is highly sensitive and confidential. You need to design a system that allows brain surgeons to authenticate themselves online before they go into the operating theatre, then download an encrypted data set that can be used to deliver customised guidance from their phone during surgery. Needless to say, the user interface is rather critical - the progress of the surgery must be communicated to the system without interrupting anything important, and any questions about what to do next involve minimum button presses before an answer is delivered (perhaps by speech output, from underneath the surgeon's sterile gown).