To create and test a multistation telemedicine support system, three remote locations were connected: the homes of two patients with chronic respiratory failure, the hospital of the attending physician, and the hospital of the pulmonary specialist. Real-time connections were set up between the three locations. Medical history and biologic variables were noninvasively recorded, including blood pressure, arterial oxygen saturation, three-lead electrocardiogram, and end-tidal carbon dioxide. Both physicians shared in these data real-time. If necessary, the respiratory specialist could provide medical advice to the attending physician based on the patient's condition. The trial program resulted in the same information being exchanged remotely using the multi-station telemedicine system that would be exchanged in a direct, face-to-face encounter. This result, together with the improvement in quality of life and the establishment of appropriate treatment and cooperation between the respiratory specialist and attending physician, suggests our system can be considered useful and promising for further use.

The early detection of disease is important to keep people healthy, but it is not easy for elderly residents living in rural areas at a distance from well-equipped medical institutes to be examined. Therefore, the present study evaluated the usefulness of real-time telescreening of echocardiography using satellite communications. The participants in this study were 57 residents of a rural community in Japan. The resolution of the real-time ultrasound images sent by communications satellite was almost identical to that of the original images taken in the hospital. Although some problems remain to be solved, telescreening of echocardiography will be a practical method for public health in the near future.

No abstract

Realtime ultrasound screening was carried out using a medical examination vehicle equipped with a diagnostic ultrasound scanner and a satellite telecommunication system. Screening was performed on 205 residents in a rural community in Japan and consisted of 57 cardiac, 57 abdominal, 60 thyroid and 31 breast ultrasound scans. The resolution of the realtime ultrasound images sent via communications satellite at 1.5 Mbit/s was almost identical to that of the original images taken by the ultrasound scanner. A disorder was diagnosed in 11 (19%) of the cardiac examinations, 28 (49%) of the abdominal, 19 (32%) of the thyroid and 7 (23%) of the breast examinations. Although some technical problems occurred, ultrasound screening by telemedicine appears to be a promising technique for those who live in rural communities.

No abstract