Livia Bellina Born :Italy, Palermo, 25/08/1954 After completing classical Studies: 1979 – Old Course (6 y) Degree as Medical Doctor at Medical Faculty of Palermo University
1983 – Post Graduate Specialization in General Pathology at Medical Faculty of Palermo University 1983 - Dottorato in Immunofarmacologia (Post Graduate Training in Immunopharmacology)only one year with admission at second year 2010 Master in Medicine of Migration, Marginalization and Poverty-Idente Foundation, Caritas , Rome, first module- November 2010 ; second 2011, February Worked in Italy for the National Health Service, from 1987 until now.
In April 2008, working as a pathologist on the Italian Island of Lampedusa, I found myself in the urgent need to confirm a diagnosis of malaria from a blood sample of an African immigrant. With no other means at hand, I took a picture of the microscopic field using the camera incorporated in mobile-phone, without additional devices, and sent it via MMS for tele-diagnostic purposes to a reference center. .... The described method has been filed for patent in April 2008, with the sole purpose to protect the idea from commercialization and consent its free use and dissemination (EPO application number 09005054.3 2002 - 2008 April).
Through that experience I was motivated to deepen my knowledge about tropical diseases, poverty diseases, global health and international development cooperation.
Meeting Eduardo Missoni at a meeting of the Italian Society for Migration Medicine(SIMM) (Trapani, February 2009) and listening to his words about Global Health and Human Rights deeply changed my life... (I have been always fighting alone in Sicily for the right to health care and medical dignity).
I asked him to collaborate and soon after we met at the Bocconi University, in Milano, where he teaches. In June 2009 our work about low cost diagnostic image transmission (Bellina and Missoni) was published in Diagnostic Pathology (an Open Access Journal) Bellina, L., Missoni, E., Mobile cell-phones (M-phones) in telemicroscopy: increasing connectivity of isolated laboratories, Diagnostic Pathology, 2009, 4: 19
Since then, we intensified our collaboration. With Prof. Missoni, we advocate the use of this image transmission method and, where needed, I make myself available to teach the method in practice.
We believe that access to health and access to care is a fundamental human right and medical technology must serve and be fit for purpose. Unfortunately health is a right which is still neglected to the majority of humanity. Sharing my experience in Lampedusa with Eduardo Missoni gave also rise to collaboration in the area of migrants' health care and rights. On the subject, we made an oral presentation in September 2010 at the 6th European Congress of Tropical Medicine and International Health and 1th Mediterranean Conference on Migration and Travel Health – in Verona (Italy).
(Bellina, L., Maugeri, M., Missoni, E., Ethical and public health concerns based on the retrospective analysis of referrals for diagnostic parasitology of immigrants and autochtonous population in Lampedusa island (Italy), European Journal TM&IH, 2009, 14 (Supp. 2) 66)
For my personal up-date in related fields I attended a number of courses, including:
Advanced Course in “Basic laboratory for tropical disease and health cooperation”, at Verona Negrar Hospital
Advanced Course in “Tropical Medicine and Health Cooperation”, at Florence Careggi University (
Course in “Management of transmissible disease in sub saharianan Africa”, at Pemba (Zanzibar) Public Health laboratory,
Master of Medicine of Poverty Emargination and Migration 5° MEMP of Caritas –Rome Idente Foundation
I soon realized that my mission was to dedicate myself to the Poor and to facilitate their access to care, including through the adoption of low-cost telemedicine, mainly in rural communities.
Thus, immediately after the course in Verona, I contacted the Corti Foundation and, after a meeting with Dominique Corti, in Milan in January , 2009, I made myself available to work in Uganda, where I spent two months (October to November 2009)
volunteering at Lacor Hospital, in Gulu. I was sent there as a supervisor of the Corti Foundation, and to support “on the job” training in diagnostic laboratory for students of the Laboratory Course for Technicians.
In Gulu, I taught the first time with my method, using my mobile to teach to student They learned immediately and easily. In September 2009
I had previously entered in touch with Nobel Laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus, and had offered also to him to help in introducing the “mobilediagnosis” method (i.e. the use of cellular phone for tele-diagnosis and support) in rural communities in Bangladesh. I met Prof. Yunus in Milano (Februray 2010)
Having accepted the invitation I volunteered three months in Bangladesh (April-July 2010)where I taught the health workers of Grameen Kalyan
In February , 24 to May, 6 , 2011, I returned to Bangladesh, Dinajpur, where I improved healthworkers of Saint Vincent Hospital,
Missionary Hospital of PIME_(Pope Institute of Foreign Missionary Organizations)
In June pof 2011, WHO published my method on Compendium of Innovative technologies And in July, an article of mine is published on Freedom From Want, the magazine of AIT ARCMDG
2011 July, , I went to Afganistan until September,3, with AISPO, with a Italian Cooperation Development Project as supervisor of Medical Laboratory of Childrness –Governative Hospital of Herat, and as educator, for make training to local healthworkers
To promote mobilediagnosis, with Eduardo Missoni, we have been developping since 2009
diagnostic confirmation:
http://www.mobilediagnosis.net
and in 2010, January, with Eduardo Missoni, we founded the Association MobileDiagnosis
In August, 2011, My Asspciation join with Global Health Workforce Alliance
http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/members_partners/member_list/mobilediagnosis/en/index.html
My aim , my project is to develop it into an interactive consultation site, to provide free support to low skill - low resources and isolated healthworkers (lab technicians, pathologists, clinicians) working in low resources countries or isolated and rural areas, offering the possibility to receive diagnostic confirmation from more skilled colleagues.
In addition, as I realized with my four teaching experiences, this method is a strong tool for the education, because the student are fascinated by this method, simple but in the same time new and excellent tool for help the understand .I’m writing a paper about the strong potential of this method in the education of developing country healthworkers
I would like to dedicate the rest of my life working for poor people, as medical pathologist and principally as educator,as teacher, and to promote this method, mobilediagnosis to low resources settings and to the poorest communities
to give my contribution to bridge the health and technological divide, and to put the global health care network at the service of the poorest and neglected communities. I am ready to leave immediately my current work, and to travel, I have no difficulty to reside in any country and in any socio-economical setting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb45mZdRhck
