Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
a tactile interface is required to reproduce, as accurately as possible, parameters such
as force (static and dynamic), texture, roughness, temperature, and shape. This sense of
touch is especially important in surgical applications where the feel of the environment
provides knowledge that cannot be obtained by purely visual means [3-5]. In a typical
teletaction system, this sensed information is fed into a processing and control unit [6] in
which the latter controls the tactile display devices that provide the same sensation as if
the skin itself were touching the object.
10.2 Application Fields
Teletaction systems are now being used at an ever-increasing rate within the medical,
entertainment, educational, military, telerobotic systems, and consumer electronics sectors
[7-9]. However, this paper will confine itself to the use of teletaction in the medical
sector, specifically its use in the following contemporary fields: telemedicine, e-health,
telepalpation, telemanipulation, and telepresence.
10.2.1 Telemedicine or in Absentia Health Care
Telemedicine generally refers to the use of telecommunication and information
technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. It helps eliminate
distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be
consistently available in distant rural communities. It is also used routinely to save
lives in critical care and emergency situations. Telemedicine is a rapidly developing
application of clinical medicine in which medical information is transferred through
interactive audiovisual media for the purpose of consulting and, occasionally, for remote
medical procedures or examinations. Telemedicine may be as simple as two health
professionals discussing a case over the telephone, or as complex as using satellite
technology and videoconferencing equipment to conduct a real-time consultation between
medical specialists in two different countries.
In absentia
health care is an old practice
which, in its very early years, was often conducted using the postal service. Since
then, however, there has been a long and successful history of
in absentia
health care
which, thanks to modern communication technology, has evolved into what we know
today as telemedicine. Telemedicine can be categorized into three main groups, namely:
store-and-forward, remote monitoring, and interactive telemedicine.
Store-and-forward telemedicine services collect clinical data, store them, and then for-
ward them to be interpreted later. These systems have the ability to capture and store
digital still or moving images of patients, as well as audio and text data. A store-and-
forward system eliminates the need for the patient and the clinician to be available at
the same time and place. Store-and-forward is therefore an asynchronous, non-interactive
form of telemedicine, and is usually employed as a clinical consultation (as opposed to
an office or hospital visit).
Remote monitoring enables physicians and other health care providers to be apprised
of physiologic measurements, test results, images, and sounds, usually collected in a
patient's residence or care facility. Post-acute-care patients, patients with chronic illnesses,
and patients with conditions that limit their mobility often require close monitoring and
follow-up.
