ATLANTA - December 9, 2008 - The Georgia Tech College of Computing,working in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, has developed a Web-based tool for tracking blood safety.The tool is expected to help developing countries improve the adequacyand safety of their national blood supplies through better monitoringand evaluation.

The tool, which is accessed through a standard Web browser, tracksabout 80 blood safety indicators continuously at the hospital andprovincial levels. A pilot test in Zambia showed that the tool couldimprove the timeliness and accuracy of data collection efforts,allowing blood safety officials to better forecast or predict regionaland seasonal blood usage patterns.

"A simple, scalable, Web-based tool like this can make a tremendousdifference in public health around the world," said Santosh Vempala,distinguished professor in the College of Computing's School ofComputer Science and faculty leader for the project. "The Zambianhealth officials immediately saw the benefits of real-time datacollection and the ability to compare different regions' needs and seetrends over time."

The project started when John Pitman, public health advisor in CDC'sGlobal AIDS Program, met Vempala and explained the challenges involvedin ensuring global blood safety. Their vision of a web-based trackingsystem was taken up in 2008 by students in the College of Computing'sComputing for Good class, co-taught by Vempala. Using information aboutcurrent conditions and future demands within the target countries, theGeorgia Tech team, computer science Ph.D. students Adebola Osuntogunand Stephen Thomas, built a Web-based system that resource-limitedcountries of any size could use to report data to national authorities.The system could also be used by a global organization, like CDC, tomonitor multiple projects.

The Georgia Tech team developed the new Web-based tool from a MicrosoftExcel version created by CDC. The team field-tested the Web-based toolin Zambia in July-August 2008 to obtain feedback from blood safetyprogram staff.

"I was impressed by the team's ability to adapt to the computingenvironment in Zambia, and to make the changes necessary to ensure thiswould be an appropriate solution for developing countries," Pitmansaid. "Including staff from the Zambian national blood transfusionservice in the development process was essential to be sure it fittheir needs."

Ministries of health in Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana,Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa,Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia will begin using the new tracking system onJanuary 1, 2009. All 14 countries are recipients of U.S. financialsupport through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief(PEPFAR).

Georgia Tech's Computing for Good class gives students the opportunityto understand how computing can be used to improve the human condition,according to Vempala. "Projects such as this collaboration with the CDCpresent computer science as a cutting-edge technological disciplinethat empowers our students to solve problems and make a positive impacton society."

For more information about Georgia Tech's Computing for Good initiativeand classes, please visithttp://www.cc.gatech.edu/news/features/technology-activism-computing-fo….
CDC is recognized as a leading U.S. governmental agency for protectingthe health and safety of people, both within the United States andinternationally. CDC's mission is to promote health and quality of lifeby preventing and controlling diseases, injuries, and disabilities. Formore information: www.cdc.gov.

About the Georgia Tech College of Computing

The Georgia Tech College of Computing is a national leader in theresearch and creation of real-world computing breakthroughs that drivesocial and scientific progress. With its graduate program ranked 9thnationally by U.S. News and World Report, the College's unconventionalapproach to education is pioneering the new era of computing byexpanding the horizons of traditional computer science students throughinterdisciplinary collaboration and a focus on human centeredsolutions. For more information about the College of Computing, itsacademic divisions and research centers, please visithttp://www.cc.gatech.edu.

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For more information, contact:

Stefany Wilson
Georgia Tech College of Computing
404.894.7253
stefany@cc.gatech.edu