Telemedicine and biotelemetry for e-health systems: Theory and applications

Abstract

This chapter develops an integrated view of telemedicine and biotelemetry applications. The objective of the chapter is coherent with the objective of the book, which includes techniques in the biomedical knowledge management. Telemedicine is the use of modern telecommunications and information technologies for the provision of clinical care to individuals at a distance and the transmission of information to provide that care. The medical systems infrastructure underpinning this form of medicine, consisting of the equipment and processes used to acquire and present clinical information and to store and retrieve data are explained in detail. An investigation of telemedicine applications in various fields is presented and the likely enormous impact of telemedicine systems on the future of medicine is discussed. For example, bioelectric and physiological variables could be measured by biotelemetry systems. Developing a biotelemetry system and the principal operation of such a system are presented, and its components and the telemetry types are explained. The author suggests that the content of the chapter will assist the medical sector and the general reader in gaining a better understanding of the techniques in the telemedicine and biotelemetry applications. © 2010, IGI Global.