TELEMEDICINE

While UB's early interest in Internet videoconferencing allowed the institution to find solutions to the purely logistical difficulties of some individual faculty members, it also has allowed UB to support efforts of others to determine solutions for specific applications.

At the Megaconference, David Ellis, M.D., UB assistant professor of emergency medicine and associate director of emergency services at the Erie County Medical Center, discussed how he and colleagues have developed a wireless telemedicine system that they say is unprecedented.

"Your standard telemedicine system is cumbersome and difficult to move around," said Jim Mayrose, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the UB Department of Emergency Medicine. "That's a problem for, say, a rural hospital where the emergency department is quite small and where you might want to move it from room to room. We have developed a wireless telemedicine system on a portable cart that allows us to transmit full-motion video through our hospital network and out to the rest of the world using Internet protocol (IP) and H.323 standards."

He said the system includes a personal computer, cameras, a microphone and speakers.

"This system has enabled us to bring the technology to the patient's bedside, rather than having to bring the technology to the patient," Mayrose said.

Such systems can realize huge cost savings for the health-care industry, since they may make unnecessary emergency transport of some patients from small rural facilities to larger ones where they can be treated.

This system already is in use, allowing ECMC staff to diagnose and treat patients in prison hospitals throughout Western New York.

"People might wonder if doctors can actually see what they need to see over the Internet," said Mayrose, "but actually with our system and the quality of equipment we use, the images we receive allow for accurate diagnosis and treatment."