The Hindu Business Line : Karnataka telemedicine project gets into operational mode

SOME 30 hospitals in district, taluk and remote areas will soon be linked via satellite for tele-consultations with five multi-specialty hospitals, thanks to the Karnataka Telemedicine Project that got operational today.

This is the first extensive network effort among the States and will be a model for the nation-wide telemedicine loop that ISRO has planned through Healthsat, a dedicated satellite due to be launched towards the end of 2005, the ISRO Chairman, Mr G. Madhavan Nair, said at the launch.

ISRO is installing the Rs 3-crore equipment and providing the bandwidth fee of charge. As the other promoter, the Karnataka government provides the infrastructure, doctors, paramedics and the subsequent running cost. The Chief Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, inaugurated the operational project.

As the telemedicine loop gets wider, ISRO has been urging the vendor industry to bring down hardware and software costs — from the present Rs 10-15 lakh per terminal to Rs 5 lakh, Mr Nair said.

The bandwidth will also be strengthened by this yearend when the project is put on the more powerful Ku band from the present C band.

A band of major hospitals such as Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, Narayana Hrudayalaya, NIMHANS, St Johns, Samatvam Institute of Diabetology of Bangalore and JSS Institute of Medical Sciences, Mysore, will offer tele consultancies. A pilot project conducted two years ago connecting two remote hospitals at Sargoor and Chamarajanagar with Narayana Hrudayalaya in Bangalore offered consultations to 10,000 beneficiaries.

ISRO started its nationwide network in 2001 with 54 hospitals and14 specialty urban hospitals, the Union Minister of State for Space, Mr Satyabrata Mookherjee, said. The project links remote places such as Lakshadweep, the Andamans, the North-East, Leh and Kargil to medical centres in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata and Delhi and has offered services to over 12,500 patients.

Mr L.S. Sathyamurthy, Programme Director, Telemedicine, at ISRO, said 10 districts and two taluks would be brought under the KTP and the rest would be covered in the coming months.

More Stories on : Medical Institutions & Hospitals | Karnataka | Health

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