So one of the awesome things about Hospital de Câncer de Barretos is that, while it is headquartered out of Barretos, it has smaller affiliated clinics in other locations. So while a lot of patients journey to Barretos from all over Brazil, for small procedures and other prevention procedures, patients don’t always need to come all the way here. Currently, there are locations in Porto Velho, Juazeiro, Fernandópolis, and Campo Grande. Yesterday, Pablo and I got the chance to drive out to Fernandópolis and see the hospital as well as explain our Melacap System to the oncologist and hospital manager.

The drive is about 2.5 hours each way which allowed us the opportunity to see a little of the Brazilian countryside. We even stopped to get lunch at a little café/gas station/store that looked like a miniature version of a Buc-ees (for all those who don’t know, Buc-ees is a gas station/store in Texas where you can buy everything from clothes, to hot food to snacks to décor for your home). The store even had license plates from all 50 states (we think, we didn’t have a chance to count), and at least two from Texas!

Once we got to Fernandópolis we met doctors and the manager and Pablo and I got the chance to explain the teledermatology Melacap app and phone attachment. We got a lot of useful feedback and new ideas to revise the app right now, as well as some ideas for future iterations. Additionally, the doctors had some ideas for future Rice 360 projects which we are excited to take back home.

After our meeting we got a tour of the hospital. To say the hospital was interesting is an understatement. The hospital had extremely nice patient rooms, technologies, decorations and waiting areas. We got to see where the skin cancer consultations happen:

                

As well as where minor surgeries occur:

 

Despite the impressive surgical rooms, Fernandópolis only deals with prevention, so no major surgeries occur here, only ones to remove cancerous lesions. Additionally no chemotherapy, radiation, etc. treatments are performed here. For those, patients travel to a different branch of Hospital de Câncer.

Also with the return of Pablo to Barretos brings the last of the parts we need for the Melacap teledermatolgy phone attachment!!!!! With the addition of these parts, Pablo and I have spent the last two days finally putting together the devices!

É tudo por agora! Até mais!