AW Stories of the Month
There’s An App for That!
An Interview with Dr. Eric Baumel, Radiologist and App Author
By Krista Martinelli
Have you ever wondered how an app gets created? For a work-related app, it usually starts with someone wishing that they had something important at their fingertips. In the case of Wellington radiologist, Eric Baumel, the motivation came in his daily work, as he needed quick access to some charts, graphs and calculations. “There are certain things that we have to look up all of the time – answers that are not quite on the tip of my tongue,” explains Baumel. What’s most unusual is that in his case, he was able to take his knowledge as a doctor, combine it with his interest in software development and create an app himself.
It’s called “Radiology Toolbox” and it’s an app that’s taking off quickly. The app went live on January 23, 2011 and can be downloaded for free. So far there have been 15,000 downloads in over 60 countries. Baumel has received emails from people in the Ukraine, France, Saudia Arabia and other countries with people thanking him for creating it.
If you want to download the app, you’ll see the “suggestion box.” On each tab, there’s a place at the bottom for “Suggestions.” It was a great element to include, as it’s the best way to receive quick feedback from actual users. Some of the suggestions so far are upgrades that were already planned for the next version; others are good new ideas. Instead of spending lots of money on market research groups, Baumel can be directly responsive to users.
Although the app was primarily designed for radiologists, he’s getting positive response from primary care physicians and nurse practitioners. It’s like your “ectopic brain,” says Baumel. In medical school, “ectopic” is a familiar word, meaning “appearing outside of its expected place.”
Some of the benefits of Radiology Toolbox, especially in the next version soon to be released, are the ways that it helps doctors in knowing how to handle different ovarian cysts, thyroid nodules and when to recommend surgery.
While Dr. Eric Baumel has been a radiologist for 25 years since his residency in 1986, he’s also kept his hand in computer programming all along. He took just one computer class. “I really found that I enjoyed programming,” says Baumel. He did some medical programming while at the Miami VA Hospital as a volunteer in the nuclear medicine department. After moving to Wellington, he taught himself C and C++. He founded Softcode Systems in 1995. And more recently, he taught himself Objective C for Apple Computers.
How has the Radiology Toolbox app affected Dr. Baumel’s everyday work? “I definitely use the app every day,” he says. One of the very helpful features is the GFR (Glomular Filtration Rate) calculator, which allows him to look at a patient’s kidney status and make sure it’s OK before doing an injection. Also, Baumel explains that the process of inputting all of the information while creating this tool has made him a better radiologist. He committed a lot of useful facts to memory in the process. He enjoys receiving feedback on the app from people across the globe, as well as from some of the techs in his office who use it.
While the app is free right now, he is developing a pro version that will be a paid version. By the way, only an average of 3% of users will upgrade to the paid version of gaming apps. For professional uses, especially the medical fields, Baumel notes that the upgrade rate is higher (generally 10 – 20%).
It takes a lot of persistence to develop an app and then market it. The whole development process was a challenge, according to Baumel, since he had to begin by learning the language. There are always little obstacles that come up in programming that can throw you off for hours or even days, until solved. One time it was just a missing set of parentheses that was throwing off the whole program. Once the app was almost ready, he had to learn to upload it to the Apple store, which presented a whole new set of challenges. The easiest part was the medicine, says Baumel, “Because I already knew what I wanted to put in there.” As a result, the Radiology Toolbox is a great reference tool.
Dr. Baumel practices at Independent Imaging, which is located at Palomino Park on 441, between Lake Worth Road and Forest Hill Boulevard. Independent Imaging, with current CEO Dr. Daniel Ghiragossian and partners have also opened an office in Belle Glade. It was originally founded as Palms West MRI and then was expanded and renamed Independent Imaging in 2001.
While working as a radiologist is his day job, Dr. Baumel is quite the Renaissance man. He’s also into photography, video editing, gourmet cooking and, of course, software development. As a family tradition, he makes bouillabaisse every New Year’s Eve, followed by crème brûlée.
Eric is married to Lori Baumel, who is a talented composer, multimedia producer and jewelry designer. They have three kids, who all seem to have carried on the creative genes in the family – Samuel, Rachel and Evan. Samuel lives in Brooklyn and co-owns a production company, working on independent feature films, including documentaries. Rachel attends Simmons College in Boston with a major in Arts Administration. Evan attends the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. with a concentration in economic policy. He participates in the Kennedy Political Union and has had the chance to interview many famous political figures, including – most recently – Colin Powell. At AroundWellington.com, we were so happy to have both Rachel and Evan as “Teen Talk” writers. As our readers know from past issues, they are both talented writers.
The Baumel family has lived in Wellington since 1991. Dr. Baumel says, “We’re very proud of our community.” They enjoy the unique aspects of Wellington and appreciate being able to live and work here.
For more information on the app, visit www.RadiologyToolbox.com or just download it for free if you have an iPhone.