WHAT IS TELEMEDICINE?

Medical science is at its best today. However, its benefits are available to privileged few in the urban areas. Even though the majority of population lives in the rural backyard, only two per cent of India’s qualified doctors practice in the countryside. What’s needed is a system that facilitates medical aid from a distance. Telemedicine does just that. A confluence of communication technology, information technology, biomedical engineering and medical science, telemedicine helps patients in distant and remote areas to avail timely consultations from specialist doctors without going through long hours of travel across distances, incurring huge expenses. Telemedicine consists of customized medical software integrated with computer hardware along with diagnostic equipment like ECG, X-ray, pathology microscope etc, connected through satellite-based communications means like the VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) system at each location. The facility transmits patient’s medical images and medical history to the specialist doctors, either in advance, or in real-time, who studies it, diagnoses and advises the local doctor or the paramedic at the patient’s end during the two-way audio and videoconference. Apart from providing timely medical assistance, telemedicine is also cost-effective. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as part of application of its programme ‘Space Technology for Healthcare and education’, under GRAMSAT (rural satellite) has initiated a number of telemedicine pilot projects.