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Indigenous telemedicine system unveiled

This has been made possible by 'Event Recorder', an electronic device the size of a pocket calculator.

T O D A Y

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Developed by software professional Ragesh Shah and his team, the device enables the patient to record his electrocardiogram all by himself within a minute and transmit it to the doctor via telephone so as to receive instant advice.

Shah, chairman of the Online Telemedicine Research Institute in Ahmedabad, told reporters today that the device could also be used to pass on information about heart via wireless sets and mobile telephones, enabling a patient-on-the-move to seek medical advice any time.

However, to begin with, the patient will have to be a member of a network that provides access to a panel of medical experts.

The battery operated electronic device, needing no attachments, records the ECG of a patient and converts the data into voice data over telephone lines to the doctor sitting before a computer. The doctor, in turn, reconverts the voice data back to electronic signals through software, Shah explains.

Shah claims that the OTRI has for the first time in the world developed a 'telemedicine' system that can transfer patient data including medical and x-ray reports and visual images in electronic files via satellite to 30 centres in Gujarat.

He says the package is targeted at patients needing prompt expert advice. It is an indigenous technology developed on suggestions of a panel of eminent physicians and surgeons, both in India and abroad.

Telemedicine can also be used for online ECG and transmitting CT scan, MRI, cathlab reports, type-note, pathological report, patient's prescription, hand-written notes and other relevant texts and images through ordinary telephone lines.

UNI

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