During its 30-year history, telemedicine has profoundly shifted the way we perceive delivery of modern healthcare. Early applications aimed to allow or facilitate the examination of patients through the use of two-way communication systems and were implemented based on a distributed architecture that aimed to integrate Patient Units (Pus) and Medical Workstations (MWs). PUs were initially implemented on personal computers located on the patient’s side, and communicated with MWs residing in large servers and used by doctors stationed within hospitals. Technology advances have driven down PUs size and price, thus allowing them to be located inside patients’ residences, while current research is focusing on taking this approach a step further, by allowing patients to carry PUs on themselves (wearable devices). This continuous aim for greater mobility/portability has brought wireless technologies to the forefront of telemedicine and has raised expectations for a new scenario for Telemedicine and shared care.

At a first glance, wireless telemedicine does not seem very different from traditional implementations and one may wonder about the significance of the field, especially taking into account the amounts of time and money spent on relevant research. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that wireless technologies can provide effective solutions to problems that have plugged telemedicine from its earliest days. A short description of these issues and the way wireless telemedicine can address them is presented below.

·         System mobility/portability. Conventional telemedicine systems, based on fixed-lines communications, can only be transported to areas with the necessary infrastructure (fixed communications networks). Wireless systems, on the other hand, allow medical consultation to take place in any geographic area with wireless networks (usually GSM) coverage. This makes wireless systems especially attractive for cases where patient mobility poses constraints, since it usually makes more sense (medically and financially) to move such a system than a highly immobile patient.

·         Patient mobility. Apart from possessing high mobility, wireless telemedicine systems may allow patients to be more mobile than with conventional systems. PDAs, wrist bands and other wireless devices allow patients to go through their normal everyday activities, while having their vital signs continuously monitored. Such mobility can be crucial from a psychological point of view, especially for elder patients, who may feel confined to their rooms and get discouraged or depressed, when using conventional monitoring systems.

·         Cost. Although not widely advertised, wireless communication is usually less expensive, mainly due to the fact that use of network is charged based on use, thus avoiding the high cost of leasing fixed lines.

·         Additional measurements. Wireless telemedicine systems allow continuous monitoring of certain vital signs for hours or days at a time, which is not possible when using conventional, unmovable devices. This type of information can be crucial for certain cases and provide deeper insight into a patient’s organism condition.

Considering the advantages mentioned above, we can expect wireless telemedicine to become much more common in the future. Coupled with the evolution of home patient-monitoring technology, more patients will be released earlier from hospitals and allowed to completely recover in their homes and more patients with chronic conditions will benefit in a similar manner. In short, wireless telemedicine looks poised to become the future wave in remotely delivered healthcare, following closely developments in the related fields (wireless networks, IPv6, 3G, etc).

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