3G systems can support higher data rates, thus allowing for a range of new applications. The integration of third generation telecommunication technologies in medicine could prove to be crucial in many aspects of remote provision of healthcare, which communication technologies used to-date (such as GSM or even GPRS) cannot support. Such systems can be used for tele-diagnosis, tele-monitoring and tele-consultation in various fields of medicine.
Published in Chapter:
Third Generation (3G) Cellular Networks in Telemedicine: Technological Overview, Applications, and Limitations
Konstantinos Perakis (National Technical University of Athens, Greece)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 19
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-002-8.ch017
Abstract
The evolutions in the field of telecommunications technologies, with the robustness and the fidelity these new systems provide, have significantly contributed in the advancement and development in the field of medicine, and they have also brought forth the need for their utilisation in the healthcare sector. Thus, telemedicine and e-Health have clearly started to become an important issue for implementation, operational deployment of services and a promising market for industry. Recognizing this trend, its importance in the lives of citizens all around the globe and its contribution in the daily healthcare delivery by all actors involved in the procedure, the authors of this chapter attempt to familiarize the readers with the impact that high broadband wireless networks have upon telemedicine services and with the way they facilitate the secure transmission of vital information stemming from bandwidth demanding applications in real time. After providing the readers with an overview of telemedical services and commenting on how they can offer added value to existing healthcare services, they provide an analysis of the wireless infrastructure that has facilitated telemedical services over the years, and point out the significant role that the third generation telecommunications systems can play in the field. After that, follows an analysis of the range of new applications that can be supported by the 3G telecommunications infrastructure, and the related research that has taken place in the European level regarding the utilization of 3G networks for telemedical applications. However, 3G networks are not a panacea; for this reason the limitations of this infrastructure is also stressed out. The authors conclude by discussing whether 3G networks can prove to be an attractive solution for telemedical services to healthcare providers.