Design, implementation and preliminary evaluation of a telemedicine system for home haemodialysis.

A telemedicine system for home haemodialysis was designed using a systems approach and a feedback model to produce the hardware and software specifications. Preliminary clinical trials at four European locations involved 29 patients and 305 sessions of haemodialysis. The evaluation included an evaluability assessment and formative evaluation. Central to the methodology was the detailed specification of a stakeholder/evaluation criterion matrix. Preliminary results indicated that the telemedicine system was capable of satisfying the requirements of formative evaluation as a precursor to evaluating its overall worth.

Telematics Service for Home and Satellite Hemodialysis.

Home hemodialysis (HD) for the treatment of end-stage renal disease was first implemented about 30 years ago. In this paper the application of telematics monitoring services for supporting patients who need home HD or satellite HD is described. Two modified HD machines were located in two renal units, and a central control station (CCS, UNIX workstation with multimedia PC terminal) was located in another room of the hospital. Bidirectional communication between the modified HD machines and the CCS was managed using ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) links. Nine patients had 150 HD sessions performed using these HD machines over a period of 5 months. This system, called the HOMER-D system, provided on-line, remote supervision of the HD machine-related functions and the clinical condition of the patients through measurement of blood pressure, pulse rate, PO2 (pulse oxymetry), and ECG from the CCS. Any disturbances in the functioning of the HD machines were both visible and audible in the CCS, and the observer could give teleconsultation to the renal unit staff. No major dialysis-associated complications were observed; all data and alarms were transmitted correctly; and patients received adequate HD treatment.