Tele-medicine

Tele-surgical training

Typical set-up of an interactive tele-surgical training session: Images of a live surgery are transmitted simultaneously to a remote auditorium and a counterpart hospital where a medical team provides instant feedback on the procedure. Telecommunication technologies have been used for remote medical diagnosis and patient care for several decades; however, tele-medicine has entered a new phase as advanced network, such as TEIN3, offer unrivalled opportunities especially in the field of medical education.

TEIN3 assists trainee surgeons throughout Asia-Pacific to adopt complex clinical techniques, such as endoscopic surgery, by supporting interactive tele-surgical training. Advanced connectivity permits high-quality streaming of a live surgery event in near-real time from an operating theatre to a remote classroom.

The success of the tele-medicine initiatives using TEIN3 has been largely underpinned by the Asia-Kyushu Advanced Medical Network and the APAN Medical Working Group. Both are led by Dr Shuji Shimizu, who has been a champion of telemedicine for many years. The AQUA website is very comprehensive and describes both the technology used and details of numerous demonstrations and events. All Asian TEIN3 partners now participate regularly in telemedicine activities using DVTS (Digital Video Television System). This requires an uncongested bi-directional capacity of around 35Mbps and would not be feasible in a number of the beneficiary countries without TEIN3. Details of the DVTS setup used can be found on the AQUA website.

By facilitating interaction with European medical teams, like the European Institute of Tele-Surgery in Strasbourg, TEIN3 and GÉANT give an additional boost to the dissemination of best medical practice across the two continents.

Case study (click on the title of the study to download the pdf)

TEIN2 Tele-medicine
Case study describing how the TEIN network is delivering tele-medicine to bridge the digital divide.

Tele-consultations

The TEIN2 link to Vietnam in 2006 has provided strong support to the partnership between the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and the National Children’s Hospital in Hanoi in the fields of paediatrics. Remote video-conferences for case reviews replace some face-to-face visits of Australian medical staff to Hanoi with tele-consultations.

Tele-consultation between Dr Liem (Hanoi) and Dr Kimber (Melbourne) in the treatment of a Vietnamese child. Tele-consultation between Dr Liem (Hanoi) and Dr Kimber (Melbourne) in the treatment of a Vietnamese child.

Tele-consultation between Dr Liem (Hanoi) and Dr Kimber (Melbourne) in the treatment of a Vietnamese child

Dr Mark Snow, an orthodontist from Melbourne, specialises in the treatment of cleft lip and cleft palate deformities. He has developed a broadband-enabled dental assessment chair that allows him to examine Vietnamese children while he is still in Melbourne – courtesy of TEIN3.