Tele-consultation

With human spaceflight it is not possible, to perform in situ diagnosis because the specialist is normally on the ground, and the astronaut is in space; the importance of an accurate diagnosis is of paramount importance because if the difficulty of getting the astronaut back to Earth for treatment.

There are wide synergies between the problems encountered making tele-diagnosis in human spaceflight and those on the Earth; the solutions can be very similarly applied. The applications of tele-diagnostics technologies and services on the ground are wide:

• On one extreme a preliminary diagnosis of a patient being transported by an ambulance can allow the patient to be swiftly carried to the appropriate hospital, which can make the difference between life and death.
• Other scenarios could be helping to make the right decision whether or not to transport a patient in a remote area in the first place to a hospital, a feat that could be costly and stressful.
• Other applications could involve continuous monitoring of chronic or aged patients at home, allowing regular diagnostic sessions per tele-communication thus allowing the patient to remain home rather than in hospital over long periods.

A list of recent and current projects supported by ESA is given below.

• AMAZON - Real-time satellite-based telemedicine service for professional clinical users in remote locations
  AMAZON is a project based on the utilisation of a compact device for vital-sign monitoring and remote diagnosis(dual use: traditional monitoring and telemedicine) involving multiple space assets for professional clinical users in remote locations.
  Contact: health @ esa.int   More info »»

   

• T4MOD - Remote assistance for medical teams deployed abroad
  T4MOD aims at desinging and validating a Telemedicine system conceived for the MoDs of France, Germany, Italy and Spain based on an interoperable IP overlay satellite network associated to an intelligent end-to-end communication platform, capable to support different medical specialities. 
  Contact: health @ esa.int   More info »»

• HERMES - Tele-Medicine using asymmetrical Internet via satellite
  HERMES aims at implementing pilot operations both in Tele-Medicine and in Tele-Education, using asymmetrical Internet via satellite, dedicated hardware / software platforms.

  Applications implemented for Tele-Medicine are: 

  • Reference Data and Medical Support Services
  • Multimedia patient record
  • Teleconsulting (one to one and/or multipoint)

   

  Contact: health @ esa.int   More info »»

• Tele-echography - Remote diagnostics via tele-robotic echography
  To develop a robotic tele-manipulation system enabling a medical expert to remotely perform ultrasound examinations on a patient in the International Space Station (ISS) or in isolated contexts on earth. 
  Contact: health @ esa.int   More info »»

• T@HIS - Telemedical network connecting physicians and hospitals via satellite
  Telemedical network connecting physicians and hospitals over a new-generation satellite network based on the recently launched AmerHis payload on the AMAZONAS satellite. 
   Contact: health @ esa.int   More info »»

• SIMONA - Collaboration between two hospitals on paediatric oncology
  A collaborative infrastructure to enable two hospitals in Rome & Baghdad to teach new protocols, assess clinical outcomes, provide second opinion, support clinical research. 
  Contact: health @ esa.int   More info »»

• SHARED - First generation telemedicine videoconference platform
  A telemedicine system based on DICE video-conference platform and LAN bridging connecting a hospital in Rome and a field hospital team in Sarajevo. 
  Contact: health @ esa.int   More info »»

   

• TELANY - Telemedicine Anyware
  Telemedicine support for routine care, pathological needs, & continuous follow up of patients at their location, as well as emergency and on-field telemedicine scenarios in extreme cases.
  Contact: health @ esa.int More info »»