Telemedicine Nodes for Emergency Medical Support to Soldiers Posted in High-Altitude
Telemedicine Nodes for Emergency Medical Support to Soldiers Posted in High-Altitude
Telemedicine, one of the unique applications of Space Technology for societal benefit, will now enable medical consultation between soldiers deployed at the Siachen glacier and medical echelons or levels of medical care in the rear, as an MoU has been signed between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Integrated Defence Staff of the Defence Ministry on August 24, 2018 to set up telemedicine nodes across the country to improve emergency medical support to soldiers posted in high-altitude areas like Siachen.
ISRO Telemedicine programme started in 2001, is an innovative process of synergising benefits of Satellite communication technology and information technology with Biomedical Engineering and Medical Sciences to deliver the health care services to the remote, distant and underserved regions of the country and has been connecting remote/rural medical college hospitals and Mobile Units to major Speciality Hospitals in cities, through INSAT Satellites for providing expert consultation. ISRO Telemedicine network covers various states/regions, wherein:
- Telemedicine systems software, hardware and communication equipment as well as satellite bandwidth is provided by the Department of Space/ISRO.
- Speciality hospitals and State governments provide facility support, infrastructure, and manpower and allocate funds.
- Technology development, standards and cost effective systems have been evolved in association with various state governments, NGOs, specialty hospitals and industry.
- Department of Space interacts with state governments and Specialty Hospitals for bringing an understanding between the parties through MOU.
- Telemedicine network of ISRO presently covers about 384 hospitals with 60 specialty hospitals connected to 306 remote/rural/district/medical college hospitals and 18 Mobile Telemedicine units.
- Mobile Telemedicine units cover diverse areas of Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Radiology, Diabetology, Mammography, General medicine, Women and Child healthcare.
ISRO will establish 53 more nodes in the first phase over and above the existing 20, in various establishments of the Army, Navy and Air Force across the country. There is one functioning telemedicine node on the Siachen glacier and four more nodes are being established.
Military medical services from their experience have developed effective techniques for caring for large numbers of casualties under adverse conditions, thereby reducing the mortality rate. The basic planning technique is establishment of echelons or levels of medical care. It evolved from the fact that casualties usually occur at places remote from hospitals and have to be given sustaining care and shelter at staging points on the evacuation route. The opportunity was taken to institute a system of progressive care at these points.
The joint initiative by ISRO and Defence Ministry of communication through satellite-enabled telemedicine nodes will be a paradigm shift in the delivery of lifesaving health care and will transform the reach of telemedicine to soldiers, airmen and sailors in remote and isolated posts that are cut off for several winter months because of adverse terrain and extreme weather, making emergency evacuation near impossible.