Digital stethoscope project to revolutionise rural health delivery
Published Thursday, 01 November, 2007 at 11:43 AM
Minister for Health
The Honourable Stephen Robertson
Queensland researchers will play a lead role in a new international project to develop a digital stethoscope that can listen inside the chest of a patient hundreds of kilometres away.
Health Minister Stephen Robertson said today a three-year project to design a digital stethoscope for remote patient assessment had just been awarded a $480,000 grant from the Australian Research Council.
“If successful, a digital stethoscope will revolutionise the way we deliver telehealth services to Queenslanders living in rural and remote communities,” he said.
“A digital stethoscope would allow a specialist doctor to listen inside the chest of a patient many hundreds of kilometres away via a video link.
“Doctors vast distances from their patient could diagnose conditions such as heart irregularity, fluid on the lungs or a blockage in the bowel.
“And that means far less cost, time and anxiety for many patients who now travel long distances for a specialist appointment.”
Mr Robertson said researchers from Queensland Health’s Statewide Telehealth Services and Toowoomba-based Australian Centre for Rural and Remote Evidence Based Practice will collaborate on the project with the University of Southern Queensland and India’s RMK Engineering College.
“This is another example of Queensland’s Smart State expertise being utilised in a project of world significance.
“The benefits of remote patient assessment by digital stethoscope would be enormous in large decentralised states like Queensland and in other parts of the world.
“The device will essentially be an advanced type of microphone allowing real time medical examinations via a video link.
“It will also be capable of screening out noises other than the organs the specialist wishes to listen to, such as the heart, lungs or bowel.
“It means a specialist in Brisbane or Townsville could listen inside the chest of a patient in St George, Longreach or Weipa via video link.
“Previous attempts to design a digital stethoscope for remote assessment of patients have failed because of poor sound quality and a lack of real time connectivity.
“The Queensland research team believes it has the solution in a new system to suppress echo and improve simultaneous audio and video interface.”
Mr Robertson said health departments throughout Australia use a significant amount of their budget to assist patients travelling to major centres for specialist assessment prior to surgery or for routine checks.
“This travel is often expensive and disruptive for the patients involved,” he said.
“A digital stethoscope would greatly enhance the assessment and diagnosis of patients over vast distances and generate direct savings of about $1,600 per patient per trip.”
Mr Robertson said Queensland Health was already a world leader in telehealth services -- that is health services delivered via the internet and video conferencing.
“By the end of the year, more than 1,100 patients each month will be having consultations with their specialists via video link at 465 sites across Queensland.
“And the Bligh Government is investing $150 million in new information and communication technology initiatives to help overcome the tyranny of distance for patients in rural and regional Queensland requiring specialist appointments,” he said.
Some members of the research team include University of Southern Queensland Associate Dean, Research, Associate Professor Raj Gururajan; and Australian Centre for Rural and Remote Evidence Based Practice associate director, Mr Clint Moloney.
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