Narrow Results

A novel approach to trend monitoring and the identification of promising high-tech solutions is presented in the chapter. It is based on the ontology of a technology/market trend, Hype Cycles methodology, and semantic indicators which provide evidence of a maturity level of a technology as well as of emerging user needs (customer pains) in high-tech industries. This approach forms the basis for text mining software tools implemented in Semantic Hub platform. The algorithms behind these tools allow users to escape from getting too general or garbage results which make it impossible to identify promising technologies at early stages (early detection, weak signals). Besides, these algorithms provide high-quality results in the extraction of complex multiword terms which correspond to technological concepts and user pains forming a trend. The methodology and software developed as a result of this study are applicable to various industries with minor adjustments.

Telehealth is an increasingly critical component of the health care ecosystem, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rapid adoption of telehealth has exposed limitations in the existing infrastructure. In this paper, we study and highlight photo quality as a major challenge in the telehealth workflow. We focus on teledermatology, where photo quality is particularly important; the framework proposed here can be generalized to other health domains. For telemedicine, dermatologists request that patients submit images of their lesions for assessment. However, these images are often of insufficient quality to make a clinical diagnosis since patients do not have experience taking clinical photos. A clinician has to manually triage poor quality images and request new images to be submitted, leading to wasted time for both the clinician and the patient. We propose an automated image assessment machine learning pipeline, TrueImage, to detect poor quality dermatology photos and to guide patients in taking better photos. Our experiments indicate that TrueImage can reject ~50% of the sub-par quality images, while retaining ~80% of good quality images patients send in, despite heterogeneity and limitations in the training data. These promising results suggest that our solution is feasible and can improve the quality of teledermatology care.

Access to healthcare is a key challenge facing people around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many innovative telemedicine solutions have been implemented to enhance access to healthcare during the pandemic. An ecosystem of telemedicine with adequate infrastructure and country-specific practice guidelines has been developed. An exponential increase in teleconsultations, corresponding to the pandemic surges, has been observed around the world. This chapter focuses on a comprehensive teleophthalmology solution developed during the pandemic by the LV Prasad Eye Institute. The infrastructure and resources required to develop a mobile teleophthalmology solution are outlined. Lessons learned in delivering care through teleophthalmology during the pandemic are shared.

One of the major change drivers which emerged in the 21st century is the birth of the internet. Internet-led digitalisation has impacted almost all the sectors across the board positively and in some cases negatively. The healthcare sector is no exception to the transformation. We are witnessing dramatic changes in the healthcare sector across all its verticals due to increasing digital health innovations. The Government of India is aggressively pushing for digital health reforms in India. The inception of key healthcare digitalisation initiatives, like national digital health mission, legalisation of telemedicine, E-pharmacies and the Health ID project, indicates the government’s strong resolve towards taking forward the digitalisation transformation at a rapid pace.

All these digital health innovations led to new strata of medical consumers like Digital Medical Consumers. In this chapter, a conceptual framework of three types of medical consumers based on their buying behaviour has been postulated. In addition, digital health innovations are playing a major role in the evolution of the holistic digital health ecosystem in India. We anticipate the evolution of Holistic Digital Health Start-ups (HDHSs) because of the government’s push towards digitalisation in health and its subsequent willingness to create digital health infrastructure and the rising penetration of health informatics. Hence, this paper has proposed a conceptual framework for Holistic Digital Health Start-ups (HDHSs).

In order to achieve the remote operation of ophthalmology consultation to reduce manpower and time costs, this paper proposes a remote-control slit lamp consultation system based on B/S structure. This system integrates the traditional slit lamp microscope with network technology. Through the reconstruction of the traditional slit lamp and the setting up of a network system, ophthalmology experts can conduct ophthalmology teleconsultation through a browser. In addition to its primary remote consultation function, the system can also function as a patient information management system. Practical application demonstrates that the system can meet the requirements of remote consultation of ophthalmology experts.

Continuing medical education (CME) is an effective way for practicing physicians to acquire up-to-date clinical information. Telemedicine is a new way of delivering health care to people, particularly in remote areas. However, there is little information available in the literature regarding the past and present of telemedicine, the study is to evaluate the state of telemedicine in Germany. Materials and Methods: A literature review of tele-education in Germany was undertaken. The development of the tele-education services at University of Dresden in Germany from 2005 to present is described. The approaches taken are compared with current teaching on eHealth implementation and a retrospective design-reality gap analysis is made. Results: Tele-education has been in use in Germany since the 1970s. Several forms of tele-education are in place at the medical schools and in some Provincial Departments of Health (DOH). Despite initial attempts by the National DOH, there are no national initiatives in tele-education. At University of Dresden in Germany, a tele-education service has been running since 2005 and appears to be sustainable and reaching maturity, with over 1,400 h of videoconferenced education offered per year. The service has expanded to offer videoconferenced education using different ways of delivering tele-education. Conclusions: What it apparent is that it improves access to education and training in resource constrained settings. The development of local and international tele-education has not followed, what is currently considered to be best practice but shows how programs can develop if there is a real need and the solution assists in meeting the need.