[Health] VideoChat is working now - hooray!

[Paul Heinzelmann]

I think its very exciting to see telemedicne applications being developed
for this platform. But I also think you need to be very careful here.  There
are multiple studies on resolutuion of images and utility for various
telemedicine purposes. (ie Still images from a 2 megapixel camera are likely
mimimal for wound care, follow up, etc.)  In that scenario, video at 1 or 2
fps wouldnt be very good for assessing wounds. I think Bob is on target when
it comes to the value add of video when it comes to doing evidence-based
telemedicine.

For example, if you are assessing a movement disorder, or trying to assess
non-verbal cues in a psych patient, this will not be possible at 1-2fps.  It
certainly adds a 'gee whiz" factor to "see" the doctor from the patient's
perspective, but the value to the doctor in terms of diagnosis will be
minimal in my opinion.

That being said, the challenge is to find low bandwidth applications that
make sense for patients and health workers and I think this will be very
case-specific. Cudos to those seeking to develop them!

On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 4:31 PM, Benjamin M. Schwartz <
bmschwar at fas.harvard.edu> wrote:

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> Bob Pyke Jr.,RN,CPNP wrote:
> | It aappears to be interestimg. But if your doing remote telehealth you
> need to have 30 fps for video.
>
> I think this is a misunderstanding.
>
> We are not talking about robotic remote surgery here, or anything
> requiring low-latency feedback.  "Telehealth" in this context refers to an
> interview between a patient and a medic.  For example, a patient might
> hold up an injury and ask the doctor if it looks infected.
>
> In fact, for health applications, I would make the unusual tradeoff of
> sending the full resolution of the camera (640x480) at high quality, even
> if this means that we can only achieve 1 or 2 fps.
>
> - --Ben
>
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-- 
Paul Heinzelmann, MD
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