Muhammad Iftikhar

A design methodology of a flexible robotic arm vision system for OTOROB

Telemedicine is a new and promising application in the field of medical science. Medical consulting and remote medical procedures or examinations became more effective with the development of interactive audiovisual systems and remote mobile robotic platforms. Tele-presence requires real time video transmission. Fixed mounting of video device on mobile robotic platform limits the video projection at certain view angle, thus restricting the remote doctor in obtaining the fine and accurate visual information of the patient. To circumvent the problem, this paper presents a flexible robotic arm with vision system for OTOROB (Orthopedic Robot). A four degree of freedom (DOF) robotic arm with extending and retracting feature enables the remote doctor to articulate the attached video device on robotic arm to target area on patient. The working envelope of the robotic arm increased with the linear motion feature. This combined with yaw and pitch at the end effectors improves the visual projection at the intended target point.

Otorob (Ortho Robot) with Docmata (Doctor's Eye): Role of Remote Presence in Developing Countries

Mobile robots are expensive for developing countries and their utilization are general in the field of medicine, from neurosurgery to intensive care units. Our ongoing project “OTOROB” is more specific for orthopedic surgeons with special consideration on its cost effectiveness. Data analysis of our survey, during the first phase helped us to find requirements of orthopaedic surgeons to make it more specific. The new concept of VIrtual Presence (VIP) Specialist Clinics and Roboscope are described. The inevitability & rationalization of the integrated tools are discussed in second phase of our ongoing project.

Telecardiology for e-Diagnosis and e-Learning in Rural Area of Sabah, Malaysia: A Novel Approach for Cardiac Services in Rural Medicine

Telecardiology is a newer alternative modality for providing effective cardiac care from a variable distances by utilizing information and information and communication technology. The cardiovascular diseases in rural population of Malaysia including Sabah are a leading cause of death. The scarcity of specialists, leads to delayed treatment, irregular follow up and ineffective monitoring. We aim to improve the cardiac care by telecardiology services. These services will be based on hybrid approach consisting of frequent tele consultations along with infrequent real regular follow up visits by physicians to evaluate clinical as well as diagnostic parameters. It will not only help us for early diagnosis, constant monitoring and quick remedial support, but will also prove to be cost effective alternative. These objectives were targeted. First, is to reduce the healthcare cost, followed by effective evaluation of tele cardiac tools (tele stethoscope and ECG) at variable distances and database for medical education. This novel approach will not only bridge the gap between rural and main hospitals, but will also provide the sense of security and emotional support amongst the patients.

Safety system and navigation for orthopaedic robot (OTOROB)

OTOROB is a telemedicine mobile robot for orthopaedic surgeons that have remote presence capability to diagnose patients in remote area. As a telemedicine robot that interacts with human being, it is required to have extensive safety system. This paper presents a Fuzzy Logic based Danger Monitoring System (DMS) and Fail-Safe and Auto Recovery System (FSARS) that monitors the robots operation. It is incorporated to the onboard flexible robotic arm vision system and the robots navigation system. It monitors the robot surrounding and internal systems for danger or failures and takes precaution measures to overcome it. The system is tested by a set of experiments and found to be demonstrating an acceptable performance.

A model proposal for tele-pathology labs (TelePol)

Telepathology is the use of telecommunications technologies in the practice of anatomic or surgical pathology. In the usual telepathology scenario, a remotely located pathologist views images of tissues samples in order to render a diagnosis of the biopsy. Numbers of medical institutes are increasing rapidly because of health awareness & financial attractions. Pathology labs, being backbone of hospitals are integral part of medical education. Shortage of pathologists & high cost of usual labs are of great concern. The model of Telepathology labs is designed for School of Medicine, University Malaysia Sabah to overcome such situation. In the first section, Teleconsultation & Telereferral (Tele-consolation) leading to telediagnosis are defined for pathology & the classification of Tele-pathology Labs (TelePol) by using internet technology is established. In the second section the current literature on telepathology is reviewed and analyzed. The third section is concerned with the better understanding of static & dynamic telepathology. Finally, the role of TelePol in medical tele-education & followed by conclusions are given.

A design methodology for video transmission of controlling an internet based noninterventional mobile robot for orthopedic surgeon (OTOROB)

Robotics in medical field has advanced vastly since many decades ago. Although with our existing technology robots can only assist doctors and not replace them. Therefore an Internet Controlled Non-Interventional Mobile Robot for Orthopaedic Surgeon or simply OTOROB is developed to aid Orthopaedic Surgeons to diagnose patients in remote places where specialists are unavailable and internet bandwidth is low. In this paper, a design methodology to transmit video for controlling OTOROB in low bandwidth condition is presented. The design uses video compression scaling and scheduling to improve bandwidth usage efficiency. A more stable video transmission for controlling the OTOROB is achieved by maintaining the frame rate in spite of low bandwidth connection.