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Jayalalithaa inaugurates telemedicine network

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI Dec. 14. The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, today inaugurated a `telemedicine network', connecting the Chennai-based Anna University and about 35 engineering colleges round the State, to extend high quality health care facilities to students as well as the community living nearby.

Ms. Jayalalithaa switched on the network in the presence of the President, A. P. J Abdul Kalam, and the Governor P.S. Ramamohan Rao, as part of the University's 25th year celebrations.

It is a joint effort by the university and the Apollo Hospitals group, with the backing of the Government, mainly to use the colleges as an infrastructure base for extending medicare provided by experts in urban areas, to patients in remote rural locations.

The Chief Minister said telemedicine could bring a range of specialised services to underserved communities, enhance retention of health professionals in rural areas, even while collaborating with other experts using the stream, and help the doctors get second opinion to take crucial life-saving decisions and exchange information cutting across distance.

Noting that the university had set up 25 telemedicine centres, Ms. Jayalalithaa wanted all engineering colleges to cooperate with it so that the facilities could be set up on their premises in a time-bound manner. When all 240 engineering colleges in the State were brought under the network, Tamil Nadu would have the distinction of enabling instant access for 95 per cent of its population to secondary and tertiary medical expertise. Ms. Jayalalithaa assured government support for the service-oriented activities.

The university's contribution, she said, was to make Tamil Nadu the most ``technically powerful knowledge State'' in the country, especially after becoming the world's largest technical university comprising 240 engineering colleges.

Unveiling a statue of Alagappa Chettiar, founder of the A.C. College of Technology (a constituent of the university) the Governor recalled the history of Anna University. He noted that heritage had not prevented he university from updating its education, as was borne out by the initiatives to provide connectivity to all colleges and tele-medicine facilities.

In a demonstration, at the function, of the telemedicine facilities a 70-year-old patient in Madurai was `diagnosed' by a neurosurgeon, sitting in the university auditorium. After `performing' clinical examinations through a satellite link and watching CT scan pictures, the doctor concluded that the patient was suffering from ``secondary Parkinsonism" and prescribed drugs. Later, a cardiac surgeon used the link to find out the reason for an ``enlarged heart and constricted lung'' of a 7-year-old boy.

He had a ``benign hole in the heart'', which, the surgeon told the local doctors through videoconferencing, could be closed with devices that required no surgery.

The Vice-Chancellor, E. Balagurusamy, noted that the university, produced 25 per cent of India's engineers and nearly 10 per cent of the world's engineering graduates.

While the numbers were impressive, it would have to make all e ngineers ``employable'' imparting to them the required knowledge, skills and a positive attitude.

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