Browsing by Author "Vassallo, D J"
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- ItemAn evaluation of the first year's experience with a low-cost telemedicine link in Bangladesh.(2001-05-10) Vassallo, D J; Hoque, F; Roberts, M F; Patterson, V; Swinfen, P; Swinfen, RIn July 1999 the Swinfen Charitable Trust in the UK established a telemedicine link in Bangladesh between the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed CRP in Dhaka and medical consultants abroad This low cost telemedicine system used a digital camera to capture still images which were then transmitted by email During the first 12 months 27 telemedicine referrals were made The following specialties were consulted neurology 44 orthopaedics 40 rheumatology 8 nephrology 4 and paediatrics 4 Initial email replies were received at the CRP within a day of referral in 70 of cases and within thee days in 100 which shows that store and forward telemedicine can be both fast and reliable Telemedicine consultation was complete within three days in 14 cases 52 and within three weeks in 24 cases 89 Referral was judged to be beneficial in 24 cases 89 the benefits including establishment of the diagnosis the provision of reassurance to the patient and referring doctor and a change of management Four patients 15 of the total and their families were spared the considerable expense and unnecessary stress of travelling abroad for a second opinion and the savings from this alone outweighed the set up and running costs in Bangladesh The latter are limited to an email account with an Internet service provider and the local rate telephone call charges from the CRP This successful telemedicine system is a model for further telemedicine projects in the developing world
- ItemExperience with a low-cost telemedicine system in three developing countries.(2001-09-28) Vassallo, D J; Swinfen, P; Swinfen, R; Wootton, RThe Swinfen Charitable Trust was established in 1998 with the aim of helping the poor sick and disabled in the developing world It does this by setting up simple telemedicine links based on email to support doctors in isolated hospitals The first telemedicine link was established to support the lone orthopaedic surgeon at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed CRP in Savar near Dhaka in Bangladesh in July 1999 An evaluation of the 27 referrals made during the first year of operation showed that the telemedical advice had been useful and cost effective Based on the success of the Bangladesh project the Swinfen Charitable Trust supplied digital cameras and tripods to more hospitals in other developing countries These are Patan Hospital in Nepal March 2000 Gizo Hospital in the Solomon Islands March 2000 Helena Goldie Hospital on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands September 2000 and LAMB Hospital in Bangladesh September 2000
- ItemA guide to sending e-mail telemedicine referrals.(2003-02-05) Vassallo, D JThis article describes simple e mail protocols that have proven their effectiveness in the telemedicine links established by the Swinfen Charitable Trust They are presented here as a guide for the benefit of those doctors who may be considering setting up their own telemedicine links
- ItemInitial plastic surgery experience with the first telemedicine links for the British Forces.(2000-01-18) Scerri, G V; Vassallo, D JIn January 1998 the first telemedicine link for the British Defence Medical Services was established between the British military hospital in Sipovo Bosnia and the Royal Hospital Haslar the main triservice hospital in the UK Further links were established later in the year These simple links use a high resolution digital camera the Olympus C1400L and the C1400XL to capture still images These are then transmitted without loss of definition as electronic mail attachments to obtain specialist opinions in plastic surgery as well as in radiology dermatology orthopaedics urology ophthalmology general medicine maxillofacial surgery and pathology Its use is illustrated by representative case reports from the first 11 referrals from Sipovo and elsewhere to the Plastic Surgery Department at Haslar This system is suitable for use within both a military and a civilian context anywhere in the world It can readily be adapted for use by general practitioners and hospital doctors to facilitate referrals to plastic surgery departments
- ItemOperational telemedicine.(2000-03-23) Buxton, P J; Vassallo, D JA simple effective digital camera and E mail based telemedicine system has been developed using commercially available equipment Initial trials were successful and this system is now deployed in several operational units A retrospective audit has shown it to be of value in 50 of referrals
- ItemTelemedicine--the way ahead for medicine in the developing world.(2003-02-05) Graham, L E; Zimmerman, M; Vassallo, D J; Patterson, V; Swinfen, P; Swinfen, R; Wootton, RAn e mail link with the facility to send high resolution digital images is a cheap and uncomplicated telemedicine method The Swinfen Charitable Trust helped establish such a link in Patan Hospital Kathmandu Nepal in March 2000 Over 12 months using this link 42 telemedicine referrals were sent to specialists throughout the world Referrals were 36 respiratory medicine 21 neurology 21 dermatology 14 cardiology 5 nephrology and 3 radiology 28 had digital pictures attached of which 96 were of high enough quality on which specialists were able to comment Thirty nine replies were received The average time for a specialist reply was 2 days and 45 were answered within 24 hours All replies were judged by independent assessors to be helpful or very helpful for diagnosis management and education The assessors decided that in 50 of cases the advice if acted upon would have shortened hospital stay This pilot study has shown that a low cost telemedicine link is technically feasible and can be of significant benefit for diagnosis management and education in a developing world setting