The Hindu Business Line : Tele-medicine Project Disha: Taking the road less travelled

CRADLED at the base of the Western Ghats, about 3,000 women huddled together under a thatch-roof watch with curiosity. The new white vehicle with an antenna on its hood and medical equipment inside, they have been told, will help improve the management of their health at Kadamalaikundu, a remote village in Tamil Nadu's Theni district.

The mobile telemedicine unit is the vehicle on which project Disha is to officially start on July 8. The project brings together Philips, in its capacity as medical-equipment company, Apollo Hospitals, Indian Space Research Organsiation (ISRO) and Dhan Foundation. And the effort is to take healthcare on the road.

There are tele-medicine projects in the country, but this one is different since it is a mobile, multi-speciality vehicle that has instant connectivity, Mr K. Ramachandran, Philips' Chief Executive Officer, told Business Line. If they get the pricing right, he indicated that the stakeholders were willing to replicate this experiment at other locations in the country.

Besides two doctors on board, the estimated Rs 75 lakh vehicle comprises X-ray equipment, an ECG to check the heart, a defibrillator that helps bring back the heart's rhythm, an ultra-sound and laboratory equipment for blood tests and so on.

The van links-up to the outside world through Insat 3A, with support of the antenna and other telecommunications software and computer systems in the vehicle, explains ISRO's Dr Bhaskaranarayana, Director - Satellite Communication Programme. Since the project is mobile, he points out that the cost for the facility is about Rs 8 lakh.

Though the bandwidth is free of cost, the project is an experiment and will be reviewed to see how it can be made self-sustaining.

The idea is to reduce the cost to the patient, even as the facility is provided at their doorstep, he said.

Explaining how the project will work on the ground, Dhan Foundation's Mr M.P. Vasimalai said that the van would take about six fixed routes and stop at specific development centres.

Patients would be screened at the centres and only those who require medical treatment or further examination will need to come to the mobile unit. He expected the project to cover a population of about one lakh in three months.

Phillips' Mr Thanuj Khambil said that patients at the mobile unit would be given medical support by doctors at Apollo Madurai.

This screening process helps cut down travel expenses and loss of wages, otherwise incurred by the patient on check-ups, he points out.

Responding to the sentiments expressed by the women gathered at Kadamalai, Apollo's Managing Director Dr Preetha Reddy urged them not to be intimidated by the Apollo name and to use the facility.

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