Porting a Clinical Mobile Device Application from iPhone to Android using Online Collaboration

Porting a Clinical Mobile Device
Application from iPhone to Android
using Online Collaboration:
a Case Study using NeuroMind
Jonathan C. Lau, MEng, MD Candidate, Queen’s University
Pieter Kubben, MD, PhD, Maastricht University

Objective
• To present our experiences porting a clinical
mobile device application, NeuroMind, from
iPhone to Android
– Successes we’ve obtained
– Challenges of online collaboration

Outline
• What is NeuroMind?
• Our Collaboration
• Why Android?
• Project Planning
• Project Development
• Challenges
• Future Work

NeuroMind
• A mobile device application developed
originally for the iPhone by Dr. Kubben
• Specifically designed as clinical resource for:
1. medical students
2. neurology / neurosurgery residents
3. neurologists / neurosurgeons
• Available on the AppStore as free download
• Details at:
http://blog.digitalneurosurgeon.com

NeuroMind
• Has been downloaded more than 30,000X
since its release
• #1 ranked iPhone app for neurosurgery

Collaboration
• How does a medical student from Kingston,
Ontario, Canada end up collaborating with a
neurosurgery resident from Maastricht?

Collaboration
• Social Media (Twitter)

Collaboration
• After two readers emailed @DigNeurosurgeon
about NeuroMind on Android, he broadcasted
the following message on Twitter:

• Link to his blog
– Concluded that it was outside of his current
priorities to port NeuroMind to Android
– But should anyone be interested, to contact him

Collaboration
• In touch by email that day
• Agreed on initial plan:
– To develop framework in Android SDK
– Add same content as on iPhone (HTML)
• Tentative deadline for working application:
– Six months from our initial contact
– (Time of Medicine 2.0 Congress)

Project Planning
• Google Wave:

Google stopped developing 2010/08.

Project Planning
• 37signals Basecamp: www.basecamphq.com

30-day free trial then $49/month.

Project Planning
• Email
– July:
• get Dictionary example working
• experiment with changing content in example
– August-September: expand example with
1. working database in background that is used for loading data
2. have the user go to a detail screen that displays the data (title,
description, content) if the user clicks the item in the TableView
– October:
• Populate app with actual content and continue testing
– November: prepare conference material and release
– Nov-Dec: release and post about it

Project Planning
• Obtaining an Android phone
– Not absolutely necessary: well-documented
software from Google for virtual device
– Bought used HTC Magic online
• Obtaining an “iProduct” to evaluate
NeuroMind
– Borrowed an iTouch from colleague

Project Development
• Software Development Environment
– Original goal to try developing using Android SDK
– Eclipse Platform:
• Free open-source software
• Designed for development of Java applications
• Android SDK available with virtual device for testing
mobile device applications

Project Development
• Tutorials on Android (http://developer.android.com)
– Hello World to Dictionary
– ListView as UI candidate

Project Development
• Enter Appcelerator Titanium Mobile 1.4
– Released July 26, 2010
• Open source platform for developing native
mobile and desktop applications using web
technologies
• Support for multiple platforms:
– iPhone and Android support since June 2009
– iPad support since April 2010
– Blackberry support in beta

Project Development
• Significant progress with Appcelerator 1.4
release (September/October 2010)
• Preliminary Android NeuroMind released:
– October 23, 2010 (ahead of schedule!)
• Coincided with release of Surgical Neurology
International mobile application
– see conference presentation by Kubben et al.

Project Development

• Available on Android Market
• 500-1000 downloads so far

Challenges
• In Medicine 2.0 context:
– Selected Group of Stakeholders:
• Neurosurgeons and neurologists
• Neurosurgery and neurology residents
• Medical students interested in clinical neuroscience
– Collaboration:
• Limited to specialized # of stakeholders who also had
interest in mobile device application development
• Likely did not take advantage of expertise of
greater community as well as we could have

Challenges
• Collaborator Idiosyncrasy
– or “Compatibility” between collaborators
– Different Platforms:
• Lack of virtual device on non-Apple products for
product development
– Different Software Development Environments:
• Eclipse Java environment
• Appcelerator Titanium
– Time:
• Clinical duties, other research priorities, time difference

Challenges
• Maintaining Collaboration
We know Medicine 2.0 is useful for initiation of
collaboration (intermediation/apomediation) but
how do we maintain effective collaboration over
time?

Challenges
• Collaboration in Software Development
– Tracking Project Milestones
• Social Media: Twitter, Google Wave
• 37signals Basecamp
– Tracking Software Changes
• Redmine:
– web-based project management + bug-tracking tool
• Trac
• Appcelerator?

Challenges
• Collaboration in Content
• Tracking Content Changes (neurodss.com)
– Currently using Google Docs
– Alternatives:
• Wiki

Future Work
• Design, Development, Maintenance, Testing
– User Interface (iOS, Android, RIM, Windows 7)
• Appcelerator has many advantages:
– Content / Layout nuances decided by others
– Software development largely outsourced
– Can focus on content building
• There are disadvantages too:
– Dependence on support provided by company
and their roadmap for development
– Professional version $199/developer/month

Future Work
• Collaboration in Content
• Mobilize other stakeholders?
– ?Authority to edit
– ?Authority to edit from mobile device
– Ability to rate entries
– Ability to ask for new entries
– Peer-review

Aside: need to support multiple mobile platforms to
ensure widest participation

Future Work
• Multiple Versions of NeuroMind?
– Decision support version for clinicians
– Education version for medical students
• Integration with Neurosurgery 2.0 framework?

Conclusions
• While our software development deviated
from our original design, a product was
released ahead of schedule for Android
• Online collaboration can be effective but the
tools used are context dependent and depend
also on project scale and direction
• Having the opportunity to discuss in person at
this meeting will greatly assist with facilitating
our continued collaborations

Acknowledgements
• Dr. Pieter L. Kubben (@DigNeurosurgeon)
– Maastricht University
• Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
– Dr. Richard Resnick
• Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences for funding
– Undergraduate Medical Education Office

Thank you for your attention!
• Questions?

Porting a Clinical Mobile Device Application from iPhone to Android using Online Collaboration

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