A pilot scheme to provide free health screening services - using the latest technologies - for Singaporeans aged above 50 is now under way at Punggol 21 Community Club.
Up to 1,000 residents can register online to visit a telemedicine booth at the community club, where they will be checked for eye and cardiovascular diseases, as well as other conditions like diabetes and obesity.
At the booth manned by volunteers, residents can track vital signs such as their blood pressure, body mass index and blood glucose level.
An eye machine will capture retinal images, which will be processed by an artificial intelligence system. The results will also be sent to the Singapore National Eye Centre for assessment by specialists.
The entire screening process takes up to 20 minutes, and residents can receive their health reports on the spot.
The booth, which will be up until Feb 28, is part of a ground-up initiative called Community Telehealth Service, which was started by a group of nine graduate students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
The leader of the project, Dr Michelle Law, 31, a medical doctor who is now a PhD student at NTU's Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, said they started it after witnessing how the coronavirus pandemic had delayed many health screenings for the elderly and people at risk of health problems.
Mr Alvin Chew, 28, one of the project's co-founders, said the health screening cannot replace a doctor's diagnosis, and the team will refer users to a polyclinic or a hospital for follow-ups if any abnormalities are observed.
He added that he hopes the booth can improve the health literacy of the community, as it allows residents to easily access health screening services.
"Residents can just pop by and check their health status while on their way to the market," said Mr Chew, a PhD student in NTU's Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme.
"This is much more convenient compared with them having to take a huge chunk of time out to go to a clinic or polyclinic."
Response to the scheme has been very encouraging, he said, noting that all slots in the first two weeks have been booked.
The scheme is funded with a Young ChangeMakers grant from the National Youth Council and another grant from oscar@sg by Temasek Trust.
It is also supported by NTU's Graduate College.
Mr Chew said the team is in discussion with other community partners, and hopes to expand the scheme to other community centres soon.
Residents who are interested can register for the telehealth screenings at blogs.ntu.edu.sg/ communitytelehealthservice/
