According to the American Telemedicien Association Telemedicine "is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve patients' health status. Closely associated with telemedicine is the term "telehealth," which is often used to encompass a broader definition of remote healthcare that does not always involve clinical services. Videoconferencing, transmission of still images, e-health including patient portals, remote monitoring of vital signs, continuing medical education and nursing call centers are all considered part of telemedicine and telehealth."
Medical devices
Medical devices can in fact be physical devices or in some cases software. The INCA study is developing a device for monitoring medication adherence in patients with asthma. The device is both a physical device, that stores an audio recording each time the inhaler is used, and a software programme that checks the dose is being taken at the correct time.
The project is in collaboration with Prof Richard Costello, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at RCSI and Vitalograph, a world leading provider of outstanding quality cardio-respiratory diagnostic devices.
Inhaler Compliance in Asthma
As part of a study developing an adherence device for Asthma medication we are investigating breath signals in terms of lung function. We have developed a device that records an audio signal of each inhaler use. This provides us with a record of inhaler usage that can be compared against clinical medication dosage and a database of audio recordings of inhalations.
The study will employ these devices to assess inhaler use in hospitals and at home. The devices have successfully collected data from 20 outpatients over three months. In terms of the Ward study, data has been collected from 39 patients in Beaumont Hospital and 11 patients in the Mater Hospital. This study is ongoing and more data is expected from the Mater Hospital and Mullingar Hospital. This phase of the study will enable us to discover how well people in general are adhering to dosage regimes and what types of errors if any are they making.