Yasumitsu Tomioka

The 920 fire departments expect reliable wideband circuit to support telemedicine

“”The purpose of our final goal is to develop a nation-wide broadband satellite communication system with HEO on Ku-band to support remote medical observations en rout, that could perform medical controls from specialists at a triage center to paramedics on an ambulance. A questionnaire investigation was sent to 920 fire departments all over Japan to recognize problems and gaps between radio communication on VHF or cell phone and the reality of needs in a means of telecommunication from an ambulance. 74.2% answered: there is a problem in a current radio communication. 87.0% answered: disturbed by non-propagation zone of a cell telephone. The fire department expect a reliable and broadband circuit in order to send image to triage center from ambulance to support telemedicine en rout (on the road). Based on this study, we are pushing forward a study in hope of the next generation mobile communication and/or satellite communication aiming to e-Health on ambulance.

ICT for the prevention of Avian Influenza

This paper intends to point out some problem of telemetry for wild birds and future technical expectations to prevent Avian Influenza. The ITU-D(International Telecommunications Union, Development Sector ) SG2(Study Group) Q14(Question) Rapporteurs Meeting hosted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan started in Tokyo on July 3–4, 2008. The Q14 deals with application of information and telecommunication technologies in health care. Meeting participants discussed the application of the information and communications technologies to help resolve some issues related to the improvement of access to medical treatment of people living in rural and remote areas of developing countries. The participants have also raised the question about the threat of avian influenza and what could be done with the ultimate goal of preventing and containing this disease. There were considerable deliberation on this emerging disease threat. Therefore, it was recommended that the ITU has to initiate the discussion at appropriate international level on how to set up the Integrated Information and Communications Network for Avian Influenza by using advanced information and telecommunication technologies for tracking of migratory birds. The participants concur in adopting the results of their work as the Statement of Appeal.

A study on pacific island e-health projects and our support

Healthcare delivery system varies within Pacific Island countries and is far less developed than developed countries. Health professionals in various Pacific Island countries, particularly those working in rural and remote areas, have less opportunity than their peers in developed and even some developing countries to keep abreast with both technical and technological advancements in medicine and healthcare. Currently there are three major e-health projects are going on to overcome the lack of specialty and quality care, limited healthcare training, limited communication and transportation opportunities, surveillance of outbreak communicable diseases and for continued medical education. 1

Development of a compact pupillometer for emergency vehicles

We summarize herein the results of research and development concerning a compact light-reflex pupillometer designed for use in emergency vehicles. Conventional methods of analog pupillary light reflex examinations performed in emergency vehicles are associated with errors that result in inaccurate measurements of changes in pupil size. To establish a simple method for quantifying nervous function in prehospital care, we applied an image processing technique based on the Laplace transform for video images captured by a CCD camera. This method produces more accurate measurements of rates of change in pupil size. While this method can be used to assess both direct and consensual light reflexes, we focused in our study on developing a direct light reflex measuring instrument because this choice presents greater technical challenges and offers the potential for a device of significantly smaller dimensions. The performance of the prototype was determined to be satisfactory. Personnel in emergency vehicles equipped with this pupillometer should be able to form objective assessments of pupil contraction rates before arrival at the hospital. We believe this pupillometer will prove useful in primary care and in selecting appropriate destination hospitals by facilitating patient assessments performed during transport, including neurological evaluations, assessments of consciousness, and confirmation of medical history items such as dementia or diabetes.

A method for applying a Ku-band device to the S-band

Most devices recently used in communications satellite Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA) have been designed and manufactured for use at 12 GHz (Noise Figure [NF] = 0.2 at 12 GHz), the frequency of broadcasting satellites (BS). Designed for use with the Ku-band, the internal wiring of the components is too thin for the S-band, and presents the prospect of large input impedance values. Generally, if we manufacture 2 GHz LNA for testing, NF will degrade at least 1 dB to NF = 1.2 (in the old notation method of NF, 2.2 dB). In this paper, we will report on an improved method for a wearable terminal with a low part count. With our methods, the LNA and the patch antenna, which we manufactured for the test, exhibited a confirmed improvement of 0.6 dB as a relative value, compared to power matching due to the S-parameter (including the stub circuit).

Patent Issues in eHealth, Especially of North and South Problems on Telemedicine

This paper intends to specifically verify what patent issues may be encountered in the telemedicine, using 2007, 2008 and 2009 International Property Rights Index (IPRI) which is the first international comparative study that measures the significance of both physical and intellectual property rights and their protection for economic well-being. Where “telemedicine” is defined as “the use of electronic information and communication technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates the participants”, the technologies are concerned, when discussing the “telemedicine”, and we cannot avoid thinking about “patent” that serves to protect the “technologies” as rights. This patent issues acts as a hindrance factor against spreading and promoting the telemedicine. To solve this hindrance factor, i.e. the patent issues, and for the purpose of spreading and promoting the telemedicine so that the benefit of medicine may reach everybody, including the people living in the developing countries, to improve the health of people all over the world, it seems important to recognize the presence of “patent issues” in the field of “telemedicine”.

Improvement of Satellite Visibility by Space Diversity consisted of Two Geostationary Satellites: -Aiming to High Performance Data Communication for Ambulance -

In the mobile moving picture transmission via a communication satellite between an ambulance and a hospital, it sometimes occurs that the electric wave is blocked by some building, tree, utility pole, etc. standing along the roadside. And consequently some packets of the transmitted signal are lost to result in freezing of the moving picture. By use of a fish-eye lens mounted on a mobile roof, the pictures of the sky including the roadside are recorded in three different Japanese urban areas (in the area of Ginza in Tokyo; in the area near the Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture; in the city area ofNagoya of Aichi Prefecture). In these three areas ,the satellite visibility to the communication satellite has been measured. The satellite visibility is a signpost indicating the freezing frequency of the moving picture. Then this paper proposes a novel technique for improving the satellite visibility by space diversity consisted of two geostationary satellites. The effect of such improvement has been confirmed by practicing simulations in those three Japanese urban areas.

Tele-health projects in Pacific and the Japanese possibility to support its circuit

(Abstract) Pacific islands due to their geography and isolation, coupled with financial problems and lack of skilled staff, offer an ideal environment for development and implementation of telehealth applications. Currently there are three major telehealth projects running in Pacific. POLHN (Pacific Open Learning Health Network) is a successful tele-health initiative among 10 Pacific Island countries that has been supported by funding from Japanese government. Pacific Basin Telehealth Initiative is another major telehealth project running in US affiliated Pacific Islands funded by Office of Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) of US government. Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network (PPHSN) is the third major project which was created in 1996 under the joint auspices of South Pacific Council (SPC) and WHO. We have investigated the various activities of these projects and proposed Universal Service Fund coverage for these projects to reduce the running cost and self sustainability. Secondly to over human resource shortage, we have extended our cooperation in human resource development (HRD) in telehealth and have started training programs in telehealth through ITU, APT, NICT, Sasakawa Fund, and other private sectors in developed nations. We are inviting research teams in health care field, governments sectors in island, and other stakeholders in the region and providing them an opportunity to study more advanced telehealth at the ITU eHealth Expert Training Course in the Shonan Campus, Hiratsuka Japan. We have also reported the activities of WINDS satellite which is currently under joint development JAXA and NICT. In addition to establishing a domestic ultra high speed Internet network, the project also aims to construct ultra high speed international Internet access, especially with Asian Pacific countries and regions that are more closely related to Japan.

A basic study of the near vertical inclined skywave the last survival tool of radio communications to support telemedicine after n-disaster

For years, we have studied the Near Vertical Inclined Skywave (NVIS) to support telemedicine after major N-disaster. In the case of disaster and emergency situation, communication infrastructure availability is one of the key points for success of telemedical services: coordination among the medical personnel, monitoring of evacuation or treatments to the patients. However it is often happened that telecommunication infrastructure is not functioning in this situation because of damage or malfunction due to disaster or blockage because of high traffics, which is typical in cellular system. HF communication gives a good possibility to communicate during disaster, as it is cheap and easy to establish. The NVIS is a HF method to reach area at the radius between 80-113 km from the sender. This area is normally not reachable by the ground wave communication or conventional HF communication. This paper discuss about the features of NVIS communication and performance simulation with Pact communication.

An aspect of the ITU-D activities from a viewpoint of ehealth and human resource development

As a member of the Japanese delegation, we have participated the WTDC 06 Doha Qatar from 7 to 15 March 2006. This is the summary and the analysis of WTDC06 from a viewpoint of telemedicine and human resource development toward the era of Ubiquitous. The topic of telemedicine and telehealth in WTDC06 was one of the prospective theme in the developing nations where are facing lack of healthcare resources.