DESNET: a SCPC-DAMA network in satellite telemedicine applications

The paper presents an application of satellite communication dedicated to medical assistance of people living in hazardous social-environmental conditions. This objective has been fulfilled by a consortium between telecommunication firms and public research bodies, in co-operation with the Italian Defense Staff, by means of a telemedicine network, involving hospitals in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Romania and Italy. The network is a DAMA/PAMA (demand/permanent assignment multiple access) satellite network with VSAT class Earth stations, while telemedicine services are performed by means of a videoconference system that integrates satellite and terrestrial communication. A future development will be the creation of a telemedicine operating center, operative round the clock, for the promotion, maintenance and operative direction of the telemedicine services.