Palmerston North based haematologist Dr Paul Harper and his software developer son, Joe Harper, have developed an internet based anticoagulant monitoring system that allows patients to use standard self-testing kits, then go online for immediate treatment advice.
Clinical trials in Auckland, Gisborne and Manawatu have proved successful and several NZ GPs are now using the software.
The company was formed in 2008 has worked closely with Roche Diagnostic NZ for clinical studies and pilots
The Harpers are interested in talking to public health funders and private investors so their service can be made widely available.
Dr Paul Harper
is a Consultant Haematologist at Palmerston North Hospital who has a particular interest in disorders of bleeding and clotting. He has carried out research at Cambridge University, UK into the inherited causes of blood clots and also done research in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
He has previously been
- Clinical Lecturer in Molecular Medicine at The University of Auckland
- Consultant Haematologist at Auckland Hospital
- Senior Clinical Lecturer at University of Auckland
- Consultant Haematologist, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge
- Editorial Board at Journal "Thrombus
- Honorary Clinical Lecturer at University of Cambridge
- Staff specialist at Westmead Hospital
- Intermediate Fellow of the British Heart Foundation
Joe Harper
Is a Massey University Bachelor of Information Sciences graduate who is currently living and working in South Korea..
He previously developed internal systems to monitor the performance of help desk functions at Telecom.
He programmes in C, C++, C#, PHP, Java and ActionScript
He began computer programming at an early age, making small games and websites.
Some of his solutions to work boredom can be found at www.gamesmouse.com
“We started INR Online a few years ago as a small project to see if we could improve treatment in some surgeries. It was very successful and so we decided to expand it to an internet based service. We see it as a great way to give patients freedom to monitor and control their own treatment, as they can access the same system their doctor is accessing.”