”International collaborative activity by APT fund”

This project aims to install and test remote medical systems on TOT network for inhabitants in Thai rural area where no medical doctor attended, and is funded by Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT).

BHN Association (BHN) has cooperated for this project from initial planning phase that it has taken a role of introducing advanced Japan’s medical ICT. This project has four missions which are “chronic disease database”, “provision of remote prenatal system”, “remote medical consultation” and “improvement of network security”.

The remote prenatal system is one with high potential expectancy by Thai medical doctors and requested to make trial installation in Phitsanulok province in the central Thailand. This system, sending fetal heart rate and uterine contraction level detected by ultrasonic sensor tapped on the pregnant woman, allows obstetrician in the city to diagnose status of pregnant woman in rural.

The project kick-off meeting was held on last August to ensure overall plan to make every system operational by the end of December. Project activities, however, ceased for a while due to the flood disaster in Thail, but have restarted on February 2012 by giving demonstration at the target sites in Phitsanulok.

The demonstration was cooperated by actual pregnant woman for diagnosis through internet and presented obstetricians. Having gained good evaluation, doctors proposed to install the system into two local hospital and clinic which are 70 km and 130 km away respectively from Phitsanulok city.

  　

The installation is now planned in the middle of May for actual operations for months. BHN is expecting successful operation to be further deployed in other areas suffering from insufficient medical services.

Hideo BABA, Executive Director