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April 25, 2002

In this newsletter:

  • Successful results for the Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair 2002
  • Make plans now to be part of the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2003
  • Echos of the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002 opening ceremony: Time to act for telemedicine!
  • Participants comment on the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002
  • Conclusions from the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002 plenary session on telemedicine market issues
  • New e-health network to provide 'roadmap' for future developments
  • Home telewoundcare: Moving beyond conventional managing and toward tele-healing
  • New turnkey solution for real-time interactive telemedicine from Eutelsat
  • New product introductions from Aerotel Medical Systems
  • Novavision: telecare therapy for the visually impaired


The first edition of the new annual Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair, which took place on April 10-12, 2002 in Luxembourg ended with successful results, which met and exceeded expectations of the exhibitors and attendees.
With 36 exhibitors from 13 countries and with over 600 industry and medical participants coming from 58 countries, the event offered a unique opportunity to do business, to share visions and ideas, and to view a wide range of telemedicine solutions currently available on the market.
Through a series of parallel educational sessions, which featured 42 speakers from 26 countries, participants could also gain practical information and insights about projects and experiences in other countries and specific solutions in various medical disciplines.
In cooperation with some of the trade fair's partners (European Commission - IST Program, Systems and Services for the Citizen, Applications Relating to Health; International Telecommunication Union; NATO Telemedicine Panel; International eHealth Association) the trade fair also featured a range of well attended and highly acclaimed plenary sessions. The sessions focused on topics such as Telemedicine Market Issues, Fulfilling the Users Needs, From Innovation to Business, Telemedicine and Developing Countries, Telemedicine and the Role of Tele-Consultation within NATO, and eHealth for Development. On Thursday April 11th, a plenary debate titled "Show me the Market!" with a panel of several industry and medical experts, raised questions about the status of the market and the needs of the users, in an effort to point out where the real business opportunities are in this market. This debate is set out to become a yearly returning feature at the Telemedicine Trade Fair with active participation of the event's partnering organizations, exhibitors and visitors. The trade fair's media corner offered a look at over 20 different publications, books, magazines, journals, reports, courses, websites and information services, all related to the field of telemedicine.
A welcome reception at the beautiful Cercle Municipal in the center of Luxembourg city on Wednesday evening, the opening day of the trade fair, and a reception at the FIL exhibition center following the plenary debate on Thursday, gave everyone an opportunity to unwind in a relaxed atmosphere after a hard day's work and to meet with old friends and establish new contacts. Judging by the amount of business cards that were exchanged at these receptions and by the comments of the attendees, the receptions also served their intended purpose of being great "networking" events, showing the dedication of the trade fair's attendees to make the most out of every possible contact, whether it be established on the exhibition floor, during the educational sessions or at the social events! In addition to the Telemedicine Trade Fair's official program, several associations and organizations also held additional meetings in conjunction with the trade fair: Conference on Telemedicine by the Luxembourg Society of Nuclear Medicine (SLMN) in cooperation with AGFA Health Care, meeting of the NATO Telemedicine Panel, Executive Committee meeting of the European Association of Hospital Managers (EAHM), and a lunch debate organized by Deloitte & Touche.


The 2003 edition of the Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair is scheduled for April 9-11, 2003. For more information about next year's event, visit the trade fair's website at www.telemedicine.lu which will be updated over the next weeks and months with new information and registration forms related to the 2003 event. If you want to exhibit, visit, make a presentation, feature a publication/information service in the media corner, or hold a meeting in conjunction with the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2003, e-mail your questions or comments to , or contact the event's international sales office in Belgium by phone at +32 2 269 84 56, or by fax at +32 2 269 79 53. Make your plans already now to attend next year's Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair in order not to miss out on another unique opportunity to be part of what's happening in the world of telemedicine, to find new products, services and solutions, to hear about new trends and results, and to meet with suppliers, users and distributors from around the world!


Now is the time for action if healthcare is ever going to realise the benefits that telemedicine has to offer. This was the message at the opening ceremony of the first annual Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair.
"After 10 years of research now is the time for implementation and action," said Professor Jean-Claude Healy, Head of Information Society Technologies, European Commission, DG Information Society. He added that there was a shift in the centre of gravity of healthcare delivery from the hospital to the patient and the backbone of this transition will be telecommunication technology.
The views of the Commission were supported by Luxembourg’s Minister of Health and Social Security, Carlo Wagner, who officially opened the trade fair. He said: "I believe these developments are indispensable for the survival of our healthcare system."
Major General Roger Van Hoof, Commander of the Medical Component of the Belgian Defence and Chairman of the Committee of Chiefs of Military Medical Services in NATO (COMEDS) stated that with telemedicine originating from the military environment, there is a lot of practical knowledge that can be gained from the military telemedicine experiences. He added that these experiences have shown the need for telecom and telemedicine solutions adapted to specific situations. Petko Kantchev of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), outlined the importance of telemedicine in improving the delivery of healthcare services particularly in developing countries. "In developing countries telemedicine helps to save lives and has created unprecedented opportunities for distance consultation. Of course we cannot help to increase the number of doctors in a country but telemedicine can help to use resources more effectively," he said.
However it was agreed that the technology has developed to such a level that now is the time for a more widespread adoption of telemedicine. "Together we can shape the evolution of the market for the benefit of both patients and medical science," added Healy. He commented that until recently the traditional physical relationship between patient and doctor was indispensable but today it is one that limits enormously the amount of expertise that can be delivered.
The Opening Ceremony was followed by the Ribbon Cutting of the Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair 2002 by


Carlo Wagner
Minister of Health and Social Security, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg
with
Major General Roger Van Hoof, MD
Commander of the Medical Component of the Belgian Defence
Chairman of the Committee of Chiefs of Military Medical Services in NATO (COMEDS)

Prof. Jean-Claude Healy
Head, Information Society Technologies, European Commission, DG Information Society
Petko Kantchev
ITU Telemedicine Coordinator & Coordinator Technology and Applications Group (TAG)
Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Alain Georges
Chairman of the Board of the "Société des Foires Internationales de Luxembourg, S.A."


Participants of the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002 agreed that the event offered high quality contacts with a qualified audience coming from more than 50 countries around the world. Exhibiting company TensioMed from Hungary was very pleased with the contacts they were able to establish with decision makers and policy makers from many different countries and is one among several exhibiors who have already confirmed their participation at next year's event. Another exhibitor, Tapuz Medical Technology, claimed that they had received more business cards and made more contacts than at some of the other and bigger trade shows they have participated at in the past! "We are coming back next year" they said! IMCO Technologies, providers of PACS solutions, have also decided to exhibit again next year: "We share your vision regarding the necessity of a business oriented event in the field of telemedicine and have decided to be back again next year. Congratulations with this new initiative!"
"What a great event you have organised. Things are going very well for me here, and the people I speak with are all very positive. I definitely plan to be back next year!" said attendee Peter Range, e-Health & Tele-HomeCare Consultant from the UK.
Sneja Dobrosavljevic, Managing Director of Luxembourg based company TeleMEDiana also expressed her satisfaction with TeleMEDiana's participation: "As exhibitor we had the opportunity to share ideas and recent experiences with telemedicine project leaders from all over the world. We were very pleased that the meeting addressed both scientific and market aspects. We highly appreciated the traffic created in the exhibition hall through the implementation of the educational sessions on the exhibition floor." AMD Telemedicine's Josh Abrams said: "The show is going well for us. I am meeting some of our existing customers here, whom I had not yet met in person before. It's truly an international event and the people we meet are all high quality contacts with a genuine interest for our products and services." The European Commission representatives who participated at the trade fair claimed being very pleased with the very high level educational programs and encouraging exhibition with participation of major telemedicine related companies. They are already planning for next year's trade fair, where they would like to focus on telemedicine assessment issues, cost-benefit impact study and present some case studies of existing business models.
Prof. Leonid Androuchko, rapporteur of the Telemedicine Group of the ITU-D Study Group 2 within the International Telecommunication Union, was also very enthusiastic about ITU's participation and partnership with the Telemedicine Trade Fair: "I have participated in many telemedicine events and the Telemedicine Trade Fair in Luxembourg is definitely among the best!" He added that ITU will plan for next year to showcase information on even more telemedicine projects that have been or will be implemented in many different countries. He indeed expects several more countries to be active soon in the introduction of telemedicine services. ITU also plans to assist in bringing more telemedicine project leaders to the trade fair, which will give the participating manufacturers and suppliers a wonderful chance to discuss new business opportunities in the growing telemedicine market.


The first plenary session of the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002, attended by over 100 industry and medical professionals, and chaired by Andreas Lymberis, Scientific Officer at the European Commission, IST Program, Systems and Services for the Citizen, Applications Relating to Health Unit, was targeting telemedicine market issues. The panel of presenters was composed of Véronique Lessens - Deloitte & Touche (Management Solutions, Health Center of Excellence, Belgium), Hans Fisher - Medgate (Application Service Provider, Switzerland), Tapio Mäkinen - Nokia (mobile communications, Finland), Christine Leurquin - SES Global (satellite provider, Luxembourg). The current status and perspectives of telemedicine in Europe was introduced to the audience by Andreas Lymberis. The main conclusions from the session presentations and discussion were the following:

  • the telemedicine (or health telematics) industry exists and new systems are in the market;
  • the market of telemedicine and e-health in general is continuously evolving towards a maturity phase where all the actors i.e. health providers, insurance, national authorities and patients will operate under a common policy and process;
  • ASP (Application Service Provider) could be a viable business model for telemedicine services;
  • new wireless and mobile technologies have promoted new markets in mobile health which are addressing a large number of societal needs for patient monitoring, doctors mobility, emergency healthcare etc.;
  • satellite services have a proven track record of being the most cost-effective means of communications for broadcast applications; in particular Internet over satellite has the potential to revolutionise healthcare by bring information to the consumer offering interactivity and flexibility.

Conclusions of the other plenary sessions at the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002 will be communicated in forthcoming newsletters. Abstracts of the presentations can be found on www.telemedicine.lu.


The e-health revolution is heralding a whole host of new challenges for healthcare professionals, not least a growing breed of sophisticated patients with high expectations of healthcare delivery.
In order to help those in healthcare to better understand the challenges ahead, Deloitte and Touche has announced the launch of a new project to build a permanent information network that will help determine the development of healthcare delivery systems as well as offering users a practical database of market trends.
Called HINE (Health Information Network Europe), the project will measure the status of health information and communication technology, facilitate the planning, monitoring and evaluation of public authorities’ policy and provide healthcare players with appropriate information to help them determine and develop their information communication strategies in the future.
The project will be deployed firstly in France, Germany, UK, Belgium, Italy, Denmark and the Czech Republic. "HINE membership is an opportunity for all health players to anticipate the next wave in healthcare: The e-health revolution," said Deloitte & Touche’s Véronique Lessens at the first Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair. She said that the development of a successful ICT strategy for healthcare organisations is therefore crucial. The HINE project is targeted primarily at industrial users, but it intends to inform and assist strategic planning and investment decisions for governments, health authorities, citizen and patient groups.
The project has the backing of the EU, but future funding will be paid for by membership subscriptions. "Networking will be very important in the development of e-health. It is not about finding solutions alone but together. There should be continual debate among the different players in healthcare. E-health requires end to end rethinking and redesign of the way we deliver healthcare. The HINE network will draw on the current state of e-health and also provide a roadmap for the future."
For more information visit www.deloittehce.com.


The Home Telehealth Community of Care webpage, developed by Information for Tomorrow, a telehealth company that specializes in home telehealth tools and applications, currently features information on new and improved approaches to wound care. The new approaches segment of this page introduces means for extending services by care teams for woundcare patients. These approaches use digital photographs and internet-based (and affordable and secure) woundcare specialty consults. Details on what’s working are provided in depth - how it is done, how it is planned for, and how it has improved care from before the days of tele-interactions.
The products segment of the page focuses on a range of new tools for wound care and the features and efficiencies from which users can benefit (such as portable and inexpensive digital cameras and "how-to" videotapes).
And, the clincher: success stories with telewoundcare, even this early in the game. In the keynote interviews segment, 3 home care clinicians who are using advanced approaches touch on issues of greatly improved care, needed apparatus, cost, training, and receptiveness to the "new" in woundcare.
Finally, more documented data on the use of advanced woundcare and tools to make it are provided in articles in the annotated bibliography segment.


Eutelsat, one of the world's leading providers of satellite communications solutions, presented its new turnkey solution WOTESA (work station for telemedical application via satellite) at the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002. WOTESA is dedicated to health services for real-time interactive telemedicine and is based on Eutelsat's two-way satellite communications network DSAT 2000. This new integrated network solution, which was built on the experience acquired through the GALENOS pilot project that was co-funded by the European Commission Ten-Telecom program, aims at the sharing of expertise between hospitals as well as assistance to local medical centres, which can be either permanent, mobile (ship) or deployed temporarily on the site of a conflict or natural disaster.
It includes real-time services with video or images content and remote control for applications such as teleconsultation, real-time diagnosis in radio-imagery, intraoperative telepathology and intraoperative teleradiology consultation. Off-line services include patient vital data transfer (electroencephalography, electrocardiography, blood pressure, X-ray radiographs, ultrasound images, scanners, spectrography, ...).
A live demonstration in partnership with the Charité Hospital in Berlin was presented during a one hour presentation in the parallel sessions of the Telemedicine Trade Fair's educational program.
Beyond the provision of operational applications for diagnosis or operation in a real-life situation, WOTESA also constitutes an extensive resource of expertise and practical cases for distance-learning and medical training.


On display at the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002 was the new HeartOne, newly introduced into Aerotel’s line of transtelephonic ECG products. The HeartOne has been developed as a single-lead, 4 events transtelephonic ECG monitor designed for transmission via a cellular phone (the GSM system) and analogue systems. Data is transmitted to a monitoring center, which is supported by Aerotel’s Heartline Receiving Station (HRS) software. The HRS enables the monitoring center’s operators to receive the transmitted rhythm lead, which is then evaluated by a physician.
Another introduction was the Tele CliniQ, Aerotel’s communicator, part of Aerotel’s MPM (Medical Parameter Monitoring) line of telemedicine / homecare products. The Tele CliniQ enables the user to connect 4 medical devices simultaneously and features advanced transmission technologies: the built-in communicator automatically dials the center’s telephone number, transfers the data and the unit’s identification code via the regular telephone lines, directly into the patient EMR (electronic medical record).Tele CliniQ can receive and send data from several medical devices (any medical device having a serial communication port can be easily integrated in the future) and includes the following parameters: blood glucose level, blood pressure, precision scale, SpO2 meter, respiratory peak flow meter, ECG.
Click here for more information about these new products from Aerotel Medical Systems.


NovaVision - Center of Excellence for Vision Therapy, presented its Visual Restitution Training (VRT) at the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2002. VRT is a computer-assisted telecare training for patients with impaired visual fields (partial blindness) following a stroke, a head injury or a brain tumour.
Special software (which can be transmitted via the internet) is designed for each individual patient. The patient trains two times daily for 30 minutes each at home on the PC for a period of 6 months or longer. Daily performance data are stored and sent via a telemedicine approach back to the NovaVision Center in order to analyse the results and adapt the individual training parameters according to the patient's progress.
"Our training is not just a telemedicine diagnostic or monitoring device, but offers an actual telecare therapy and treatment, as it allows patients to improve their visual information processing and to enlarge the impaired visual field," said Prof. Bernhard Sabel, Director of the Institute of Medical Psychology at the University of Magdeburg and CEO of NovaVision AG.
The results of the VRT have been documented in several placebo-controlled trials and open studies with more than 400 treated patients. More than 70% of them confirmed visual improvement and more than 90% showed evidence of reduced blind regions. Some patients even show a total recovery of vision. "Further telemedicine products are under development," said Dr. Gereon Boos, Executive Director of NovaVision AG. "These products will help training colour and form perception, and a special visual training for children will be launched in October 2002."

 
 

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