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Research
> Human
Health and Safety > Mobile
Telemedicine in the Danube Delta - demo action |
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First Real-Mobile
Telemedicine in Romania
Danube Delta - Romania, the 25th of June 2004
Mobile Telemedicine in the Danube Delta - demo action
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During the 3rd day of the
Conference "Integrated Space Applications in the
Danube Basin" held in Mamaia - Romania, organized
by EURISY and co-sponsored by the Romanian Space Agency
(ROSA), The United Nation Office for Outer Space Affairs
(UN-OOSA) and The European Space Agency (ESA), it was
organized a real-mobile telemedicine demonstration during
a trip in a remote area of the Danube Delta.
During the demonstration session, Prof. Ronald Merrell,
MD, (affiliated to Virginia Commonwealth University and
NASA) acted as the on-site physician consulting a patient
supposed to be in a critical health state. Via satellite
data connection, real-time echographic images where transmitted
and there was a videoconference tele-consulting with Mr.
Tony Hangan, MD, located 100 miles away at the Constantza
District Emergency Hospital.
The whole action was prepared and coordinated by Mr. Vlad
Valeanu, EE, (affiliated to the Excellence Center for
Space Applications in Medicine and Human Biological Welfare),
with the outstanding cooperation of the specialist's team,
organizations and sponsors mentioned in the extended presentation. |
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The Telemedicine in Romania
In Romania it is already operational a telemedicine network
between major medical centers from Bucharest, Constantza,
Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Craiova and other important cities.
The communication channels are generally multi-modal,
including broadband optical cable, radio data streamers
and satellite connections. The current telemedicine applications
are tele-consulting, tele-conferencing, clinical and imagistic
data exchange, continuous medical education, etc.
There is a strong commitment to extend the national telemedicine
system till to the basic health assistance system including
family health-care, health insurance system and integrated
medical databases. |
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Why Danube Delta?
Taking into account that Romania has remote, infrastructureless
areas, exposed often to natural disasters (flood, earthquakes,
etc.), the tele-medical act supported by satellite communications
means could be, and often is, the sole data transfer solution.
The Danube Delta is such a remote infrastructureless region
where the population dispersion and density, as well as,
often, the land instability require a tele-medicine assistance
solution characterized by mobility and fast deployment. |
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The Mobile Telemedicine
Demo
As an avant-premiere to a future Mobile Telemedicine Pilot
project in the Danube Delta Danube area, during the Conference
"Integrated Space Applications in the Danube Basin"
held in Mamaia - Romania was organized, for the first
time in Romania a real mobile telemedicine demonstration
during a trip in a remote area of the Danube Delta.
During the demonstration session Prof. Ronald Merrell,
MD, (affiliated to Virginia Commonwealth University and
NASA) acted as the on-site physician consulting a member
of the ship crew supposed to be in a critical health state.
Real time echographic images where transmitted and there
was a videoconference tele-consulting with Tony Hangan,
MD, situated at the Constantza District Emergency Hospital,
via satellite data connection. |
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Technical Details
The equipment used was: one Sonosite portable echograph,
one Regional BGAN satellite data modem, one multimedia
notebook with accessories. The communication was made
over Internet between the RBGAN public IP and the Constantza
District Emergency Hospital public IP. The specific software
included with the echograph and with the RBGAN modem integrated
the data stream transfer through the Internet channel
established from IP to IP (mobile site in Danube Delta
and the gateway of the Constantza District Emergency Hospital
gateway).
The on-site consulting physician assisted by the nursing
assistant operated at the notebook/echograph console on
the ship and the tele-consultant physician operated at
the console of a multimedia station belonging to the Constatza
Hospital IntraLAN. Microsoft NetMeeting carried on the
tele-consulting. The overall, average, data transfer rate
was 56 kbps by means of an INMARSAT satellite connection.
The on-site (on the ship deck) equipment setup and the
connection initiation were realized in about 10 minutes.
The tele-medical intervention, comprising the echographic
investigation and the tele-consulting between the two
remote physicians, lasted for about half an hour. |
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The Team
The medical team (in alphabetical order):
- Mr. Catalin DRAGHICI, RN, on-site nursing assistant,
The VAVIAN Trading Company - Bucharest;
- Mr. Tony HANGAN, MD, remote tele-consulting physician,
The OVIDIUS University - Constantza;
- Prof. Ronald MERRELL, MD, on-site physician, Virginia
Commonwealth University and NASA.
The technical team (in alphabetical order):
- Mr. Cosmin BOANCA, EE, The Fundeni Clinical Institute
- Bucharest;
- Mr. Iulian MAGUREANU, EE, Global Communications Services
Romania Company - Bucharest.
Coordinator:
- Mr. Vlad VALEANU, EE, The Excellence Center for Space
Applications in Medicine and Human Biological Welfare
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Acknowledgements &
Thanks
We are delighted to express thanks to Prof. Ronald
MERREL for his outstanding participation and support of
the mobile telemedicine demonstration in the Danube Delta,
for his contribution and effort in the preparation phase
as well as for his involvement in the on-site telemedicine
act.
Special thanks to professional personalities and the represented
Organizations for supporting the whole action:
- Mrs. Simona DIMA, MD, from The Constantza District Emergency
Hospital;
- Prof. Vasile SARBU, MD, from The Constantza District
Emergency Hospital;
- Mr. Catalin Nicolae GRASA, MD, General Manager of The
Constantza District Emergency Hospital;
- Prof. Irinel POPESCU, MD, from The Fundeni Clinical
Institute, Bucharest;
- Prof. Pierre de HILLERIN, PhD, from The National Institute
for Sports Research, Bucharest;
- Mr. Marius-Ioan PISO, PhD; President of The Romanian
Space Agency. |
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Sponsors & Cooperators
We would like to thank Mr. Cosmin NISTOR from the
Romanian Space Agency for his help in the organization
and his contribution to the demonstration success.
We would like to mention the participation of Mr. Bryan
DOUGLAS, CTO at MITAC-USA, and Mr. Daniel ONISOR, MD,
from The Fundeni Clinical Institute - Bucharest.
Mr. Lucian PANAIT, MD, currently at Virginia Commonwealth
University, significantly contributed to the event preparation.
The organizers of the mobile telemedicine demonstration
in the Danube Delta thank to the sponsors of the event:
- VAVIAN Trading srl - Bucharest;
- Global Communications Services Romania S.A. - Bucharest,
- The Romanian Space Agency,
- Donna Maria srl - Bucharest;
- OnlineSolutions Media srl - Bucharest.
Finally we express our thanks to the staff of Atlantic
Tour Company - Bucharest, and to the whole crew of the
leisure ship "CAMENA" - Tulcea for their understanding
of the special circumstances implied by the mobile telemedicine
demonstration. |
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