TELEMEDICINE: THE HISTORY
The "marriage" between telecommunication and medicine is not a new concept as many might think. It started at the beginning of the 20th century with the development of the electrocardiogram.
First stage of telemedicine from 1901 to 1960:
The historical evolution of electrocardiography is closely related to telecommunication
in more than one way. In his pioneering work dating back to 1901, Einthoven
wrote "Mr. Ader has already built an
instrument with a wire stretched
between the poles of a magnet. It
was a telegraph receiver". This
invention of the string galvanometer
by Clement Ader, primarily used as a
telegraphic communication instrument,
was the technical breakthrough that
opened the way for Einthoven's basic
and extensive studies of human
electrocardiography (ECG). Moreover,
Einthoven connected his string galvanometer located in the physiology laboratory
to the hospital about a mile away by means of telephone lines. He then named
his device "Le Telecardiogramme".
Second stage of telemedicine in the late sixties: These first steps in Telephonic ECG recording (Cardiac telemedicine) were prematurely terminated. It was not until the late sixties that the first reports on the clinical use of transtelephonic ECG, primarily for ambulatory surveillance of pacemaker patients, were published. Third stage of telemedicine in the seventies: A few years later the first pioneering work describing the use of transtelephonic ECG monitoring in arrhythmia detection and ischemia monitoring in high-risk cardiac patients was published. One of these pioneers, Dr. Daniel David, conducted large scale clinical trials on hundreds of post myocardial infarction patients as well as patient suffering from cardiac arrhythmias. He showed the marked benefit of the telephonic ECG monitoring in solving a wide spectrum of cardiac problems. These trials paved the way to its wide use today (see references).
In 1988 Dr. Daniel David
was instrumental in establishing Cardiomedix Inc. and became its medical director.
The company's successful modus operandi has become the model for the rest
of the industry. Continuing its mission, Cardiomedix strives to
improve the practice of medicine and use creative ideas
and evolving technologies to improve patient care while
cutting costs. New proprietary technology for a
revolutionized practice of telemedicine/telehealth
and
remote home monitoring in the next millenium is in
advanced stages of development.
