Telemedicine: Successful Tele-Stroke Clinical Trial Conducted by UCSD Med Center & Calit2

According to a study in the UK medical journal Lancet Radiology, a telemedicine system devised by researchers at the UC San Diego Medical Center and the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) proved successful in clinical trials. The Stroke Team Remote Evaluation Using Digital Observation Camera (STRokE DOC) system is based on high-quality, two-way Internet audio and video links between community hospital emergency rooms and UCSD Stroke Center specialists, who could participate over a wireless connection from wherever they were. The study found that long-distance consultations using STRokE DOC resulted in the proper treatment of suspected stroke patients 98 percent of the time, versus an 82 percent success rate when the UCSD stroke specialist participated in a patient's evaluation over the phone to an emergency room. Quoted in this feature are Stroke Center co-director Brett C. Meyer, and Calit2 UCSD director Ramesh Rao.
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