Ambulances May Get Virtual Doctors | AP | 12.26.04
PITTSBURGH - Researchers are developing technology for ambulances to improve communications and perhaps more importantly, place virtual doctors inside in transit.
Mountains, valleys, bad weather and long distances between hospitals make communication with emergency room physicians spotty at best and nonexistent at worst.
“It always seems to happen when we’ve got a critical patient and you’ve really got to talk to a doctor,” said Jim Effinger, a paramedic with 23 years experience in rural Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Office of Naval Research is funding research for the First Responder Emergency Communications-Mobile with hopes to one day apply it to the battlefield.
The FREC-M uses an international maritime satellite and varying frequencies to bridge communication gaps. It has multiple cameras inside and outside a standard ambulance, which looks like any other, save for several satellite and GPS domes on top.
Researchers working on “virtual doctors” | 12.27.04 |
Researchers with the U.S. Navy are developing an experimental ambulance that will include “virtual doctors.” Dubbed the First Responder Emergency Communications-Mobile (FREC-M), the ambulance will rely on GPS, satellite communications and a range of cameras to relay info on patients to doctors, who can instruct onboard paramedics on treatment options. …
No confirmation on rumors that the National Association of Trial Lawyers is working on a $500,000 “virtual lawyer” that will be able to chase the FREC-M and serve malpractice suits.
The old technological imperative crossing incentives with healthcare’s economic imperatives again. How much should be spent for advance technologies for the very few when we have very many without basic healthcare access.
