Journal of Clinical Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
The Busan, Ulsan, Gyeoungnam Branch of Korean Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
원저

Ambulance Telemedicine Using Mobile Smart Devices Connected Through an LTE-A Network

Hee-June Park1, Geun-Hyo Kim2, Jeon Yeob Jang2, Soo-Geun Wang2, Choong Koung Lee3, Seok-Ran Yeom4, Jin-Dong Kim5,*
1Department of Speech Rehabilitation, Choonhae College of Health Sciences, Ulsan, Korea
2Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea
3DICS/BNP Innovation Inc, Seoul, Korea
4Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea
5Department of Speech and Hearing Therapy, Catholic University of Pusan, Busan, Korea
*교신저자: 김진동, 46252 부산광역시 금정구 오륜대로 57 부산가톨릭대학교 언어청각치료학과 전화 :(051) 510-0844·전송:(051) 510-0848 E-mail:jdkim@cup.ac.kr

© Copyright 2016 The Busan, Ulsan, Gyeoungnam Branch of Korean Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Feb 29, 2016; Revised: Mar 31, 2016; Accepted: May 10, 2016

Published Online: May 31, 2020

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: With the development of communications technologies, media transmitting could be possible in real time without having space and time limitations. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility of using mobile smart devices to exchange data between a moving ambulance and a hospital using LTE-A (long term evolution-advanced) network technology. Materials and Methods: In the evaluation, a server and monitoring system were used to link four mobile devices simultaneously via a commercial LTE-A network. The proposed system was designed to monitor the status of a patient being transported in an ambulance, using mobile smart devices communicating via a commercial LTE-A network, in real time without delays or video image break up. Results: This was achieved by decreasing image transmission overloads for each channel and increasing the compressibility of transmissions to the server. Based on these techniques, captured media could be transmitted without data loss using a bandwidth of 512Kbps. Conclusions: Collectively, the study demonstrates that efficient, real-time telemedicine in ambulance emergency scenarios can be realized by using mobile smart devices connected through an LTE-A network. (J Clinical Otolaryngol 2016;27:112-120)

Keywords: Ambulance telemedicine; Communications technology; Emergency telemedicine; LTE-A network; Mobile smart devices