An internet based interactive telemedicine system for remote healthcare

To enable remote monitoring and diagnosis of patients located far from medical facilities, a prototype Internet based telemedicine system is developed. The developed telemedicine system establishes an audio-visual connection as well as a data path from the patient´s home to the medical personnel´s office through a web browser interface. A remote controlled wireless camera installed on the patient side can be tilted, zoomed, and panned by the doctor, at the medical facility, to examine different parts of the patient´s body through the web interface. Unlike many of the existing systems, the established data path enables additional diagnosis functions such as electrocardiogram, blood pressure, respiration, temperature, and stethoscope. Results from laboratory and field testing of the developed system are presented and avenues for broader implementation in integrated facilities using low cost wireless networks will be discussed.