Internet Protocol Based Store and Forward Wireless Telemedicine System for VSAT and Wireless Local Area Network

Telemedicine can be defined as medical practice across distance via telecommunications and interactive video technology. Telemedicine has been an active area of research for over 30 years. In the past, several telemedicine applications using wired communications were presented. The recent evolutions of wireless communications have enabled telemedicine systems to operate throughout the world, hence expanding telemedicine benefits, applications, and services. In telemedicine, typically scenarios is two doctors are involved with the patient: a local attending doctor and a remote tele-doctor who is engaged to do one or more of a variety of services ranging from tele-consultation, or performing a tele-surgery, as well as tele-diagnosis where a doctor tele-diagnoses a sickness. The telemedicine systems need to be very simple to operate, reliable and consistent links, use standard communication protocols, and efficient bandwidth. The current generation of the telemedicine systems uses the store-and-forward approach of telemedicine, where medical data's are acquired and compiled and transmitted. Telemedicine systems require a face-to-face encounter between the patient and the doctor. A high quality video and audio is required at both the sides to enable the consulting doctor and patients to have face-to-face encounter with the expert doctor. In this paper we discuss a prototype wireless Internet Protocol (IP) based store and forward telemedicine system using the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite communication and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).