PERVASIVE computing 23Smart phones' processing capability permits flexible functionality that can be adapted or extended to include control functions for particular devices.
MERMAID is a European Union (EU)-financed maritime telemedicine project with global reach and 24-h multilingual capability, so as to serve multinational crews working in the isolation of the world's oceans. It provides a model for the provision of healthcare services based on the electronic transmission of medical information via ISDN-based video conferencing. This model is not limited to medical diagnostics, but it encompasses all cases in which the actual delivery of healthcare services involves a patient who is not located where the provider is. Its implementation requires the commissioning of an extensive telecommunications infrastructure that includes both satellite transmission for ship to shore communication and an extensive ground-based network for summoning expert medical help from around the world so as to meet the project's multilinguality requirements and, therefore, the exploration of a number of solutions. In fact, all categories of telemedical applications (audio and video conferencing, multimedia communications, flat file and image transfer with low-, medium-, and high-bandwidth data requirements) are considered, while the full range of network choices (digital land lines, cellular/wireless, satellite, and broadband) are being tested in terms of cost/performance tradeoffs that are inherent to them and the developmental stage each of these options occupies in their lifecycle. Finally, out of that, MERMAID utilizes advanced land-based line transmission technologies to aid the remote patient by making available the specialist care that is best suited in the particular case.
In the context of the PANACEIA-ITV IST European project, a home care service provision system is described based on interactive TV technology.
IntroductionInformation technology (IT) applications in medicine are rapidly expanding and new methods and solutions are evolving, since they are considered pivotal in the success of preventive medicine [1]. In the past days, IT applications were scarce, difficult to use, maintain, and expensive. Today, due to the fast growing and penetration of the INTERNET and mobile telephone technology, the IT applications in the health care environment are focused at e-consultation [2], home care delivery [3] and the use of triage systems [4]. Home care delivery is a very important issue, covering the management of chronic diseases, wellness, education and information delivery on-demand, and addressing socially delicate targeted problems such as infertility. Thus, there is a demand for continuous monitoring of basic parameters and biosignals of the patient, as well as timely delivery of educational material, for prevention of complications and the advent of serious diseases. One of the most important IT areas where work needs to be done is the interactive TV (ITV) area, since TV is a communication medium accessible to all citizens and to all houses that can increase regional health quality [5].In this paper, the use of ITV for Citizen Centered Health and Lifestyle Management system is considered, by use of the PANACEIA-ITV paradigm. The PANACEIA-ITV system is used by patients suffering from adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) at the Royal Brompton Hospital. The primary aim of this pilot is to test whether delivery of high quality monitoring, treatment and education for the ACHD or pulmonary hypertension patient is feasible via interactive television and infrared microdevices.
MethodsThe communication means used in this work are satellite TV for the patient and Internet for the clinician. Patient needs a very simple interface that will guide him/her through the different services provided and will be 0276−6547/03 $17.00
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