The Anatomy of Teleneurosurgery in China

Abstract

With its huge population and vast territory, China faces a great challenge in providing modern advanced health care services to all parts of the country. The advances of information communication technologies (ICTs) and the advent of internet have revolutionised the means in the delivery of healthcare via telemedicine to remote and underserved populations, which to a certain extent has been very well exploited in China, especially where 70% peasants residing in the rural areas. This paper reviews the latest development in telemedicine infrastructure in China with the focus on the development of teleneurosurgery, drawing from the results gained from a 3-year networking project between Europe and China on telemedicine (TIME, 2005–2007) funded by European Commission under Asia ICT programme, with an aim to shape up envisages of future medical care in China. Comparison with its counterparts in Europe is also addressed.

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“…Teleeducation, teleconferencing, and teleconsultation have flourished, albeit mainly as a showcase between a number of emergency units within leading institutes [3, 4]. …”

“…To this end, collaboration with the developed countries will increase and will help to ensure that expertise, knowledge, and experience are more rapidly and more cheaply available [3]. …”

“…Another very important instrument that has to be developed for neurosurgical emergencies is the telemedical emergency neurosurgical network. Teleeducation, teleconferencing, and teleconsultation have flourished, albeit mainly as a showcase between a number of emergency units within leading institutes [ 3 , 4 ].…”

“…With advances in information and imaging technology, the application of robotic systems to the health sector has become a burgeoning field in assisting surgeons in manipulating, monitoring, and/or guiding operations, with the advantages of high targeting precision, reliable support during protracted operations, and the possibility of preoperative planning based on patients' images. In 2001, around 270,000 image-guided robotic operations were conducted annually worldwide [ 3 , 4 ].…”

“…In the developing countries, telemedicine holds promises increasingly balanced access to health care services. To this end, collaboration with the developed countries will increase and will help to ensure that expertise, knowledge, and experience are more rapidly and more cheaply available [ 3 ].…”