Document Detail


Telemedicine at the top of the world: the 1998 and 1999 Everest extreme expeditions.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  11110635     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initially established a Commercial Space Center (CSC) in the Department of Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine to further develop and evaluate technologies in information systems, telecommunications applied to medicine, and physiologic sensors. The CSC is known as the Medical Informatics and Technology Applications Consortium (MITAC). The overall purpose for this NASA program is to leverage technology, innovation, and resources from industry and academia through collaborative partnerships. The Yale-NASA CSC/MITAC organized the Everest Extreme Expeditions (E3) for the spring Himalayan climbing seasons in the years 1998 and 1999. The primary mission was to deliver advanced medical support with global telemedicine capabilities to one of the world's most remote and hostile settings--Mount Everest. The purpose was both humanitarian (providing medical support) and scientific (conducting medical and technology research). The Yale team provided medical care for the Everest Base Camp community; conducted validation experiments for several types of advanced medical technologies in this remote, hostile environment; and performed real-time monitoring of selected climbers, while also assessing the basic science of altitude physiology. Additionally, the teams conducted outreach medical care to the citizens of Nepal and provided several educational forums for a variety of medical and nonmedical personnel--including school-age children. As part of the project's mission, the E3 medical teams at both Nepal and New Haven were on a 24-hour emergency call system to deliver medical care in the event of a crisis. Unlike most of the teams at Everest, the mission of E3 was not to climb the 29,028-foot mountain the Nepalese call Sagarmatha ("Sky Head"). The mountain served as an extreme testing ground for telemedicine. The lessons learned from this testbed are reviewed here and further clarify the abilities to provide better health care in remote and extreme environments--which for some may even be their home environment during/after a medical illness.
Authors:
P B Angood; R Satava; C Doarn; R Merrell;
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association     Volume:  6     ISSN:  1530-5627     ISO Abbreviation:  Telemed J E Health     Publication Date:  2000  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2001-04-04     Completed Date:  2001-08-09     Revised Date:  2004-11-17    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100959949     Medline TA:  Telemed J E Health     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  315-25     Citation Subset:  IM; S    
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. angoodp@msnotes.wustl.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Altitude Sickness / diagnosis*
Biosensing Techniques
Humans
Monitoring, Ambulatory / instrumentation*
Mountaineering / physiology*
Nepal
Telemedicine / instrumentation*
Telemetry / instrumentation*
United States

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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