Online health check-up gains popularity

A patient gets information about the latest state of his health through check-up by Computer Meridian Diagnostics (CMD) at a centre in the port city. PHOTO: STAR

Computer Meridian Diagnostics (CMD), an internet-based computerised health check-up system, is gaining popular in the port city.

The system is capable to diagnose any illness and report on 12 main organs of a human body such as heart, lungs, kidney, liver, gallbladder, stomach, digestive system and pancreas within 20 seconds.

CMD technology provides one with the analysis of the latest state of one's health taking reading from skins of fingertips in a painless way, specialists said.

They said the system makes a profile on fitness and gives the measurement of energy level of 12 vital organs of human body enabling one to take control of the health.

The people in Chittagong came to know more about the technology when a stall offered CMD check-up facilities at the three-day IT fair that ended at the Agrabad Banani Complex in the city on Saturday.

Around 70 people received the CMD check-ups at the stall, sources said.

The Bangladesh Softalk Online Private Limited, a Dhaka-based software firm, was the first to launch the system in the country originated in Europe, sources said.

At present 23 centres, including two in Chittagong, offer check-up through the technology in the country.

The two centres here have already generated a lot of interest among the people, particularly the young generation.

Preventive Health Care was opened at Agrabad on March 26 last year while Advanced Health Care started CMD check-up facilities at Jamal Khan in January this year.

Around 1,000 patients have received the basic check-up at the two centres so far, sources said.

Prof Dr Hasanuzzaman Bhuiyan, working at Preventive Health Care, said scientists and researchers in China, Japan, Germany and Soviet Union developed the CMD system after research of 35 years at Russian Space Agency.

This system, based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), was first used for medical check-up of Russian astronauts, says a website information. They proved the effectiveness of the system staying in sound state of body and mind in the space station Mir for long 11 years, said Prof Hasanuzzaman, also head of the Forensic Medicine Department of Chittagong Medical College (CMC).

The research for developing the he system was first started at the Russian Space Agency in 1984. The objective was to develop a system to monitor astronauts' health during prolonged stay in space flights. It also aimed at envisaging ways to overcome the problem of retaining the vitality and energy of the astronauts in weightlessness during a flight of long duration.

A team of 400 scientists and technicians directed by professor Dr V Zagriadskij developed CMD-Prognosis in cooperation with Dr Valery Polyakov of the Institute for Biomedical Problems, in Moscow. They conducted more than 1000 medical experiments on astronauts abroad the Mir space station, using many types of test equipment to formulate the system, says the website.

After the collapse of USSR in 90s, Germany bought the technology from Russia and conducted more research on it leading to the development of the CMD system, said Prof Hasanuzzaman.

Dr Liton of Chittagong Medical Centre said any illness of the body can be detected through tracing out the imbalance in the body's energy system.

Any irregular signal in human body can be detected by CMD system and measures are taken accordingly for heeling, said Dr Liton, also works as a specialist at Advanced Health Care.

Prof Hasanuzzaman said, "We take measurements of the body's energy level using the unique CMD sensor. The readings are sent via Internet to the central CMD Server in Germany." They compare the data we send with those gathered from persons of the same age, gender and various states of health, and an evaluation report is made, he added.

Abu Taher, a student of Chittagong College, said, "I was interested about this when I heard one of my friend's uncle was able to learn about his diabetes through CMD check-up and it was proved when he examined his sugar."

Prabir, a Chittagong University student, said, "I was not aware of having my peptic ulcer that was detected through CMD reading."

Several physicians of mainstream medical treatment also showed interest in this modern system of diagnosis.

Dr Sushanta, a physician at Chittagong Maa O Shishu Hospital, said he was interested in the system. But he could not afford to receive training on it abroad.