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News: Newsletter 28

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September 2, 2004

In this newsletter:

  • Breakthrough in the prevention of arteriosclerosis
  • Home monitoring in stroke is moving forward
  • Improved security for patient data set to spur telemedicine uptake as a mainstream technology
  • Telemedicine via satellite: the way forward
  • TMA-Bridge proposal accepted by European Commission
  • News from ISfT **NEW NEWSLETTER FEATURE**
  • Med-e-Tel Matchmaker **NEW NEWSLETTER FEATURE**
  • Join Med-e-Tel 2005
  • News from the Med-e-Tel media partners
  • Newsbriefs


Cardiovascular diseases and arteriosclerosis are causing more than 50 percent of all early deaths. The early detection and prevention of arteriosclerosis is therefore vital. Nevertheless no quick, easy and convenient screentest method has been available on the market up till now.
TensioClinic arteriograph is a new revolutionary invention. It is a breakthrough in the examination of the state of the arteries. The device determines the arterial stiffness in just two minutes with a simple upper arm cuff. As a result a quick and convenient screentest method is available now in order to detect and prevent arteriosclerosis in its early stages. The device determines PWV (Pulse Wave Velocity) and AIX (Augmentation Index) which are independent parameters of assessing arterial stiffness. The arteriograph was presented and introduced earlier this year at the Med-e-Tel exhibition and conference in Luxembourg with great success. More information at www.tensiomed.com.


Results of the clinical trials and projects with the Vox Net web solution and software for home monitoring of blood pressure and other vital signs in stroke patients are encouraging to the neurologists, physicians and technicians involved in these trials. Hypertensive and stroke patients, also treated and supported with a special diet with low potassium level configured by another Vox Net web solution (see: www.ristonet.net) are satisfied with the projects too.
Recently, Vox Net together with its scientific partner, the University of Rome "La Sapienza", also presented the "home box" able to acquire and transmit data in an embedded solution, and a doctor work station with high quality display for radiology.
Vox Net and its partners are confident to soon provide an integrated and blended solution to the market. The system and the final project results are planned to be demonstrated and presented at Med-e-Tel 2005 in Luxembourg. More information at www.voxnet.it.


According to market research firm Frost & Sullivan, the European telemedicine markets are at a critical growth phase where vendors need to capitalise on growing opportunities and gain the early-mover advantage over competitors. However, they must first counter the resistance of patients and healthcare professionals who remain doubtful regarding the security and long-term viability of the technology. Such concerns are being addressed by improved data security standards and encryption techniques.
Encouraging signs are now present about the gradual dissolution of resistance to telemedicine, thereby accelerating its mainstream acceptance. Governments have also become more open to funding healthcare technology that creates noticeable improvements in service quality at no extra cost or at reduced costs.
Besides an ageing population, the growing demand for home-based treatments is creating a conducive atmosphere for the uptake of telemedicine as a mainstream technology - especially in remote patient monitoring. This would benefit patients in terms of convenience and simultaneously allow healthcare facilities to control costs.
More affordable broadband Internet access and high quality telephony and videoconferencing is set to underpin the continued expansion of transmission technologies such as telemedicine.
In order to benefit from the favourable healthcare environment, telemedicine vendors need to work with professional and trade associations to generate greater excitement about the technology. This is achievable through offering training programmes and educational packages, and giving end users a 'hands-on' experience with telemedicine technologies through various events and conferences. More information at http://healthcare.frost.com or e-mail .


The European Space Agency (ESA) is in the process of establishing a Telemedicine via Satellite Programme. A working group, consisting of WHO and industry representatives, doctors and administrators, is currently finalising a report in order to present it to the ESA Council next year for approval. The areas of telemedicine under study by the working group are:
*interconnectivity for health care services;
*services for citizens;
*healthcare at home;
*mobility;
*management of trauma, emergencies and disasters;
*early warning of environmental health risks;
*eHealth education;
*vision for eHealth and telemedicine via satellite.
Telemedicine is an area where the technology is ahead of the ability or the will to put it into practice. The goal to work for is a global telemedicine service so that all citizens, wherever they may be, can be assured of receiving the best quality treatment available.
Satellite telecommunications have much to offer as in remote areas, in emergencies and on planes and ships, they are the best, if not the only means of ensuring the transmission of data in real time. Telemedicine can also help to remove the digital divide by providing access to good medical services and training to doctors and healthcare workers in all areas of the globe resulting in equality of service for all.
Before this can be accomplished, however, there are a number of legal, financial, social, technical and security aspects that need to be worked on. Even before a European-wide system can be put into operation questions of interoperability need to be resolved so that the systems used in different countries are compatible. Last but not least, the political will to iron out these problems is needed.
"If the project is accepted then we can press ahead and eventually also cover other areas such as Africa," according to Prof. Lareng, Director of the European Institute for Telemedicine and member of the ESA working group. "In certain situations satellites can be the only way of reducing the digitial divide in telemedicine. This is our mission for the future." More information and examples of "telemedicine at work" can be found at www.esa.int.


With the recent successful completion of the TM-Alliance project, the same consortium (ESA, WHO, ITU) is about to commence a second phase, the continuation project called TMA-Bridge, sponsored by the European Commission and led by ESA.
The appropriate name of the project, TMA-Bridge, represents the work in this phase, to bridge the gap between the Vision and implementation of that Vision. The results of the first phase pointed to the critical importance of first establishing a solid basis of standards and interoperability, before progress and necessary investment can be made. The lack of adequate technical standards and medical coding systems was identified as being a major show-stopper for progress towards Telemedicine and eHealth implementation.
The goal of TMA-Bridge is therefore to stimulate and facilitate the building of a platform of common standards and interoperability protocols on which applications can be built with potential for EU-wide, if not universal utilization. The creation of such a platform is a critical prerequisite for stimulating investment in this sector and to enable Europe to play a leading world role in eHealth and ICT technologies. More information at www.esa.int.


In this new section of the Med-e-Tel newsletter, we will report news from the ISfT (International Society for Telemedicine), supporting partner of the Med-e-Tel event.
- ISfT has decided to hold one of its board meetings at Med-e-Tel each year. ISfT will also be instrumental in bringing over several international delegations to Med-e-Tel through its national member associations.
- ISfT has started up the publication of a regular newsletter with news and information from the Society, its members and partners. The newsletter can be found at www.isft.net/newsletter/newsbrowse.php. Free subscription can be done at www.isft.net/cms/index.php?subscribe_newsletter.
- The next ISfT Members General Assembly will take place in Geneva on November 5, 2004. Work and achievements from the past year, since the re-start in September 2003, will be presented and directions for the future discussed. The General Assembly will also coincide with several meetings with WHO and ITU representatives to establish a formal working relationship with these international institutions.
- The 9th ISfT International Conference took place in Brisbane, Australia on July 22nd-23rd, 2004 in conjunction with the SFT-4 (Successes and Failures in Telemedicine Conference), organized by the Center for Online Health at the University of Queensland. The proceedings will soon be published as a supplement to the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare.
- The 10th ISfT International Conference will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 23-26, 2005 in conjunction with the meeting of the Conselho Brasileiro de Telemedicina e Telesaude.
- For more information or to contact ISfT, see www.isft.net.


The Med-e-Tel matchmaker is a new feature in the Med-e-Tel Newsletter, aiming to facilitate contacts and links between various telemedicine professionals and providers around the world. Below is a first list of requests. To obtain more details or to provide your services, contact us at and we will put you in touch with the source of these requests. If you would like to submit a request of your own, and we will publish it in a next newsletter.
- Mauritius: developers of a national health information system looking for partners and equipment to link up hospitals/university, transmit clinical data based on radiology works and remote general practice works. Patient management software may be needed as well.
- Pakistan: university looking for telemedicine consultant companies in Pakistan.
- Australia: speech pathology researcher looking for contacts worldwide with other researchers in the field of speech pathology involved in telehealth applications.
- USA: college seeking international funding sources for a pilot telehealth project in Guyana, South America.
- USA: telemedicine center looking for contacts in Mexico to set up a cross border ehealth initiative.
- Zambia: government agency looking for equipment that can transmit video, voice, data to facilitate remote diagnosis, with eventual possibilities to add on other digital medical accessories that test various organs or functions. Also looking for X-ray scanner and transmitter.


Preparations for Med-e-Tel 2005, taking place on 6-8 April 2005 in Luxembourg, are underway. To submit an abstract for the event's conference program, please refer to the Call for Abstracts at www.medetel.lu. For information about exhibiting, sponsoring or visiting Med-e-Tel, contact us at .


For information on publications, journals, magazines, reports and on-line information services that will help you to stay abreast of what is going on in the field of ehealth and to make better informed decisions in your daily business or healthcare practice, check out the list of Media Partners on www.medetel.lu.
- IST Results is an online editorial service reporting on research results and ongoing activities of projects funded under the European Commission's IST Programme. IST Results' key services comprise daily in-depth project features, news items about IST-related topics, an events calendar, a comprehensive links section as well as weekly e-bulletin. The free of charge website provides a unique access point to the outcomes, progress and developments of IST research, allowing users to browse a range of technology and market application areas to find content relevant to their specific needs. With e-health being an important activity of the IST research initiative, IST Results also covers innovative projects in the fields of e-health, telemedicine and medical ICT applications. The links provided below refer to some feature articles that have been commissioned in these fields:
*Prescribing the simplest solution to keep track of medication;
*Grid technologies for the medical community;
*3D medical VR based on real patient data.
Please consult www.cordis.lu/ist/results for further information.
- Telemedicine Journal and e-Health is the leading international, peer-reviewed journal combining medicine, telecommunications, and information technology. This journal publishes authoritative empirical research, descriptive case studies, policy analysis, and technical design, including technical requirements, clinical protocols, data formats, and communication protocols for telemedicine systems, as well as case reports.
Telemedicine Journal and e-Health is also the Official Journal of the American Telemedicine Association. More info at www.liebertpub.com/tmj.
- In 2003 the Ukrainian Journal of Telemedicine and Medical Telematics was founded by the Department of Medical Informatics and Telemedicine of Donetsk R&D Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedy. Main subjects of the journal are: telemedicine, medical telematics, medical and clinical computer science, information technologies in medical research and education, statistical research and simulation in medicine, medical cybernetics and medical equipment. More information can be found at www.telemed.org.ua.
- A new report from Information for Tomorrow, called "Telehospice: A Resource Manual for Program Development & Implementation", provides a practical guide for planning telehospice programs, with details on costs, needed policies and procedures, and tools' features and selection. "The issues of costs, or costliness, of telehealth are addressed at the outset," says Audrey Kinsella, the report's principal researcher and writer. "It's important that program planners learn about affordable and focused ways of extending care to patients who are nearing the end of life, so that patients can receive hospice-in-place comfortably and safely in their own homes." A contents page and extended chapter overview are available online at www.informationfortomorrow.com.


To follow are links to some interesting and recently published articles and studies (if you would like to suggest an article for inclusion into a following newsletter, feel free to send details to ):
- A Wireless Health Outcomes Monitoring System (WHOMS): development and field testing with cancer patients using mobile phones (BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making)
- Web site delivers IT standards relief in one click (Diagnostic Imaging)
- The Virtual Image Courier: Teleradiology provides healthcare facilities with quick image and data sharing, and the prices just keep dropping (Medical Imaging)
- Remote Patient Monitoring Technologies Get Patients Wired for Health and Wellness (Frost & Sullivan)
- Healthcare IT Implementation: Challenges for Vendors in Europe (Frost & Sullivan)
- Promise of Improved Workflows and Reduced Medical Errors to Boost Adoption of Computerised Physician Order Entry Systems (Frost & Sullivan)
- Live from the Delivery Room: The Next Best Thing to Being There (Health-IT World News)
- The Telemedicine Industry Continues to Grow and Diversify According to the 2004 TRC Report on U.S. Telemedicine Activity (ATSP)
- Video teleconferencing extends scarce paediatric diabetes specialist care (Virtual Medical Worlds)
- EU-funded MEDICATE system ensures that patients follow their prescription (Virtual Medical Worlds)
- Sananet B.V. begins Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease pilot in Utrecht and Nieuwegein (Virtual Medical Worlds)
- University of Ulster to develop a Virtual Reality technique for victims of stroke (Virtual Medical Worlds)
- View teleradiology as a benefit, not as a threat (Diagnostic Imaging)
- NHS scans 'to be sent abroad' (BBC News)
- Netherlands group rolls out mobile digital mammography pilot (Diagnostic Imaging)
- Health professionals' responses to the introduction of a home telehealth service (Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare)
- E-mail Communication Between Pediatricians and Their Patients (Pediatrics)
- Intercontinental videoconferences between US and Hungarian obstetricians: a 30-month study (Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare)
- Telerehabilitation - a new model for community-based stroke rehabilitation (Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare)
- Groups to Certify Electronic Records (Health Data Management)
- Schilde launches pilot project Video Care for its disabled, chronically ill and elderly inhabitants (Virtual Medical Worlds)
- Implementation of an International Teleradiology Staffing Model (Radiology)
- Regional Air Transport of Burn Patients: A Case for Telemedicine? (The Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care)
- Six Thousand Jamaican Health Workers to be Trained in Telemedicine (ATSP)
- You Say Tom(ay)to, I Say Tom(ah)to - I say "EMR", you say "EHR". (Health-IT World News)
- Heart treatment from a distance (BBC News)
- The cost-effectiveness of technology transfer using telemedicine (Health Policy and Planning )
- What's behind the drive for electronic records (American Medical News)
- The wonders of telemedicine (The Jamaica Observer)
- Email consultations in health care: 1-scope and effectiveness (British Medical Journal)
- Email consultations in health care: 2-acceptability and safe application (British Medical Journal)
- Cancer care improves with videoconferencing (Diagnostic Imaging)
- Technology to Monitor Long Distance Patients (allAfrica.com)

 
 

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