Performance of a wireless telemedicine system in a hospital accident and emergency department.

We developed a mobile, wireless videoconferencing system suitable for use in a hospital accident and emergency (A&E) department. Four consultants, eight junior doctors and 11 nurses working in the A&E department tested the system. Transmission of three types of data (audio, still images and video) was tested. The audio for the breath and heart sounds was judged to have some disturbance. One consultant rated the diagnostic quality as good and one rated it as fair. The quality of the still images was judged to be from fair to excellent. The quality of the video was rated as good. Possible interference between the wireless local-area network and various medical devices in the A&E department were examined, but none was detected. The four consultants who tested the system were very positive in their initial comments. Eight of the 11 nurses remained sceptical about its use. Of a total of 20 patients who answered a survey, 13 were slightly anxious about the use of the system to transmit their data to a distant point. Overall, the performance of the system was satisfactory for use in the A&E role.

Use of 3G mobile phone links for teleconsultation between a moving ambulance and a hospital base station.

We developed a mobile teleconsultation system based on third-generation mobile phone links. The system comprised a laptop computer and a digital camcorder. It was installed inside an ambulance to allow video-conferencing between the moving vehicle and a doctor at a base station. In addition to video and voice, high-quality still images could also be transmitted. A series of 17 trial runs with real ambulance patients was conducted in the city of Athens. In general, the videoconferencing sessions produced relatively clear video. The bandwidth was high enough for a satisfactory video of 10-15 frames/s. During a total testing period of 23 h and in an area of about 180 km2, there were nine instances of signal loss, amounting to a total of 17 min. The general opinion formed by the doctors was that the system produced good results. All initial diagnoses made using the system agreed with the final diagnoses of the patients. The study showed that the mobile system could reduce the time before an ambulance patient is seen by a doctor.

Mobile consultant: combining total mobility with constant access.

Minimizing the time required for a medical consultant to offer his/her expert opinion, can be viewed as a life-saving procedure. We have designed and tested an integrated system that will allow a medical consultant to freely move either within, or outside the hospital, while still maintaining constant contact with the patients via videoconferencing and high-resolution imaging. The above system is explained in this paper, along with its advantages and its potential limitations. Conclusively, we demonstrate that such a system further increases the mobility of the medical consultant, while improving the healthcare service.