• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Medical Attention Via Television Goes on Trial

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 September 2005, 15:01 CDT

in Berlin

That visit to the doctor for a regular check-up or a lengthy stay in hospital could become a thing of the past for many people if a pilot study in the Netherlands using a cellphone and television set in the home proves a success.

The technology is on show at the world's largest consumer electronics fair in Berlin.

The pilot study, called Motiva, began in June and involved a random population of 630 patients from eight hospitals in the Rotterdam area. Achmea Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare insurers in Holland, will assess how effectively chronic heart failure patients can be cared for at home with technology developed by giant multinational company Philips linked to Achmea's medical service centre.

Philips research chief executive Rick Harwig said a set-top box and wireless home-monitoring devices were installed in patients' homes. Patients measured their own vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate and weight.

The health data is sent via a secure broadband television connection to nurses at Achmea's Medical Centre who monitor the information and send out reminder messages, educational videos and respond to patient calls.

The initial feedback from the nurses was positive, said Dr Harwig, and patients liked to be able to take charge of their lives again.

Philips expects to launch a commercial release of Motiva later this year.

"Our goal is to turn the home TV into the patient's own personal healthcare channel or virtual health coach," he said.

It would free doctors and hospitals up to deal with chronic cases.

For more than five years healthcare providers have used Philips- developed technology to monitor patients in the home, but this study is the first involving so many and with broadband. The key to Motiva is the involvement between nurses and patients through the television set.

Philips researchers are also looking at the potential of molecular imaging which helps to find, diagnose and then treat diseases in the body well before conventional medical methods.

Although still in its infancy, molecular imaging has rapidly become the method of choice for radiographers.

Dr Harwig said the speed with which images were taken and diseases identified impressed them.

Philips, which invests eight per cent of its turnover on research and development, was committed to developing it further.

Molecular imaging accurately pinpoints where tumours or diseases are in the body. Chemotherapy or radiation from outside the body can kill healthy and cancerous cells with subsequent side-effects.

Source: Waikato Times

More News in this Category