How telepresence is targeting healthcare
Published: 17 Mar 2008 12:35 GMT
...over video. One of its objectives is to keep abreast of the latest technical developments.
Doctors working with HealthPresence were impressed with the system, but were keen to establish its limitations. Patients with minor injuries at the hospital are invited to first see the doctor using HealthPresence. They are then given the same consultation face-to-face so the doctor can check whether they are judging the situation correctly using the system.
"We are looking at [such issues as]: are we changing the management [of the patient's case] in any way? Do we get enough picture quality?" says Fiona Mair, one of the doctors at the Royal Infirmary.
Out of the 51 patients seen so far, the handheld camera was providing excellent images of patients' mouths and ears, says Mair. However, the stethoscope had provided less guidance, as she couldn't clearly hear patients' chests.
Mair says she would have been happy to carry out the majority of those 51 consultations remotely, and for the rest, she would have asked them to attend an appointment with a doctor in person.
The one thing that is missing is touching the patient, which can help with identifying the problem, says Mair. But she adds that, based on her previous experience of telemedicine, it "doesn't make a huge difference" for minor injuries.
Patients have been impressed. Mair says the centre has received mostly positive feedback on the technology, and the first patient to be seen responded with just one word: "Cool".
The SCT is aiming to evaluate 300 patients using the HealthPresence system, in order to form a statistically significant sample, before making a decision on its experiences. If it is happy with progress on both technical and clinical grounds, the HealthPresence pod will be re-located outside the hospital, probably in a hospital some distance away where medical expertise is scarce. And if that goes well, pods could be added in places such as supermarkets or pharmacies, or on Scottish islands where there is only one GP.
HealthPresence provides 1,080-pixel screen and lifesize images of both the patient and the doctor. Comparing telepresence with previous videoconferencing offerings, SCT boss Peterkin says: "It offers a better quality of picture and less latency. But the downside is, it's bandwidth hungry. We need to think about how we deliver the service if we can't get the necessary bandwidth."
A typical telepresence screen needs 5Mbps of bandwidth to run at its highest resolution: bandwidth that just isn't available in remote areas. "Part of the assessment is: how much bandwidth do we need?" Peterkin says.
Cost is also an issue. Cisco had paid most of the costs of the assessment so far, according to SCT. "We were looking for a partner to develop the concept," he says. "It's easier to get money [funding] for biomedical research. That's why we wanted a commercial partner."
The SCT has invested just £15,000 of its own money — half of the cost of running the pilot — while Cisco has stumped up the remaining £15,000 plus the cost of the booth and the networking expertise. Standard telepresence rooms cost from £50,000, although Cisco has declined to reveal the cost of a HealthPresence pod.
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