Space hospitals to create 500 nodes by 2008

Chennai, May 31 (UNI) The city-based Space Hospitals, a leading facilitator in the field of Telemedicine, will set up 500 nodes by 2008 for strategic tie-ups with high-tech hospitals to deliver speciality healthcare in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu.

The primary focus of connecting nodes was to establish a complete telemedicine network linking Speciality Centre with small diagnostic centres, hospitals, nursing homes and clinics.

Addressing newspersons here, Space Hospital Founder-Chairman A Venkatramani said distance would no longer be a barrier between the doctor and the patient with the ongoing project of connection nodes in different places.

''Now a cardiologist in Chennai can examine a patient sitting in the heart of Chettinad, in real time'', he pointed out.

While explaining about the connectivity, he said ''Space hospitals envisions linking and equipping remotely located hospitals and diagnostic centres through a server-browser-based telemedicine system that provides medical information and consultation in the fields of Cardiology, Radiology, Pathology, Critical Care, ENT and Ophthalmology through techniques such as video conferencing''.

''Our mission is to connect 3,000 nodes across the country by 2010'', he said, adding that ''Doctors and small clinics in remote locations across the country will be linked to bigger satellite medical centres, located at the nearest town, in turn linked to associate hospital, metro-based institutions, which have specialists in every field on their rolls''.

Mr Venkatramani said ''We will be using the latest and most versatile technology to offer a complete telemedicine solution through high-tech system on both ends via high speed leased lines, broadbands, VSAT, cable or dial-up''.

''When a local general practitioner from rural area ties up with space hospitals, the doctor will be provided with all the hardware and software components for telemedicine solutions'', he explained.

UNI