Raquel Rodriguez: Improving health through mobile technology

Raquel Rodriguez is Software Engineer at The George Institute UK, working on mobile health applications.

How long have you been working at The George Institute?

I started last September, almost nine months ago.

What attracted you to working at The George Institute?

The feeling that I will be in a group which is working hard to make a difference in the clinical environment, and using innovative tools to achieve it.

What are you currently working on?

I am responsible for developing two applications in mobile devices, Support-HF and Support-CVD, collecting patients’ details and providing diagnosis with the aim of improving their lives.

What is a recent highlight?  

The first application in which I have been working has been realised, Support-CVD in Iran. So, this is the moment to see all the results of our work and check the impact in the medical environment.

What difference will this make to healthcare and why?

We enable a faster and more personalised monitoring of patients’ health, which leads to a more effective and comfortable patient care.

What is your professional background?

I have a Master degree in Computer Science Engineering. During my last years of studies I decided to start working to improve my knowledge.

When I finished my degree, I wanted to specialise in mobile technologies to broaden my technical professional area. And nowadays I keep on top of the latest developments in my area, to be able to incorporate them to my current job.

Why do you enjoy working at The George Institute?

Because I like taking part in cross-disciplinary projects in which I can learn something new every day.

To explain to people what I do I say…

I implement an application in mobile devices to help patients with cardiovascular diseases monitor and control their health.

I work at The George Institute because…

I feel I can make a difference in people’s lives while doing what I enjoy the most: playing with some of the latest technology and gadgets.

To unwind at the end of the day I….

Take my bike every day to go home. I do some exercise and at the same time I enjoy a beautiful trip home, and after that I read a while and cook the dinner and the lunch for next day.

My first job was….

A junior developer in Oracle (Spain). There I had a very good work experience, I learnt about the company environment and how to deal with customers.

My biggest achievement so far….

Making people’s life easier and happier with the technology we can provide them.