Telemedicine

The RCC established Telemedicine in September 2004 with the help of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and CDAC, Trivandrum.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Established high bandwidth connectivity between Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram and its peripheral centres at Kollam, Kozhencherry, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Kannur using satellite communication. High quality Video Conferencing, Tele-pathology and Tele-radiology equipment and software required for interfacing these equipment have been developed.

Follow-up of Patients through Telemedicine

Cancer is a disease, which needs prolonged treatment and lifelong follow-up. To avoid unnecessary patient travel, RCC has introduced monthly follow-up clinics at its five sub-centres. Patients returning home after the initial treatment at the RCC can communicate their post-treatment problems and results of investigations from nodal centres. The doctors at the RCC also render advice for terminally ill patients who require only palliative care. The RCC has 5 peripheral centres with essential infrastructure at Kollam, Ernakulam (Kochi), Palakkad, Kozhencherry and Kannur. Besides helping patients for follow-up, the online facility also provides counseling. Apart from RCC patients, the public as well as doctors of other institutions can also avail themselves of ONCONET services.

Tele-pathology Clinic

Tele-pathology uses telecommunication technology to transmit data and pathology images to and from remote centres for diagnosis, education and consultation. A tele pathology system consists of a high-resolution video camera mounted on conventional microscope to capture digital images of pathologic slides and a telecommunication set-up to transmit images to a remote centre. The RCC conducts regular tele-pathologic consultations between Kannur and Kochi Early Cancer Detection Centres. RCC also seeks expert opinions on pathology from expert centres in USA like Mayo Clinic, UICC, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai.