Dubai, 10 October 2011: In association with du, FVC, one of the leading Value Added Distributors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has confirmed that it will be showcasing the capabilities of telemedicine at GITEX 2011 scheduled to be held from 9-13 October 2011. The showcase is focused on the healthcare sector (on du’s stand no Z-G10 at Zabeel Hall) and will demonstrate how telemedicine could be used to diagnose and examine patients in remote locations with an out of town expert or specialist.
The demonstration equipment will include a specialised telemedicine cart powered by Polycom video conferencing and speciality software and hardware from GlobalMedia. This will include remote diagnostics tools including an ophthalmoscope to enable retina scan, an otoscope for an in-depth ear scan, a stethoscope, a vital signs patient monitor and a general examination camera for dermatology and other applications. The solution includes Advanced Image Automation software for general exams, dermatology, and pathology traditionally useful for live and archived imagery, documenting the encounter.
“Following our agreement with du last year, we are very pleased to be part of an innovative initiative to leverage new technologies in unified communications to benefit the healthcare community,” said K.S. Parag, MD at FVC. “With on-the-ground support from us, medical institutions in remote areas can now access specialists in big city hospitals in the emirates or around the world.”
Dr. Mansoor Anwar, Director of Medical and Occupational Health Services, du. elaborated: “We are constantly developing innovative ways to bring mobility to healthcare.Telemedicine as a concept has been around for a while, however, with the availability of high speed broadband networks it is increasingly gaining traction. We believe it will facilitate easier and timely intervention and diagnoses in medically under-served places, and enable more informed decision making in providing quality health care. As a key enabler, we are excited to demonstrate the benefits of this technology in real time at GITEX.”
“At du, it is our goal to innovate and deliver services and value in all our customer and enterprise segments, and healthcare remains a high priority focus. We have launched a portfolio of innovative services collectively branded as Smart Health, which is constantly expanding,” added Dr. Anwar.
Smart Health portfolio from du includes the announcement of a 24-7 physician call centre, a strategic partnership with Mobile Doctors 24-7 International; Health Text, a bouquet of SMS-based content services to encourage people to stay healthy (including Quit Smoke, Lose Weight and Live Well in partnership with PurpleTeal Inc, USA) and Health Link, a strategic partnership with Ericsson to deliver remote health for the management of chronic diseases.
du’s future endeavours will explore more aspects of the mobile Health ecosystem by involving all relevant stakeholders including technological partners, healthcare, pharmaceutical, regulatory and insurance organizations.
Last year, du and FVC signed the Middle East’s first VNOC (video network operations centre), offering Managed Video Services to businesses around the UAE. The agreement includes providing du’s customers with a unified service that includes bandwidth, device management, commercial, bridging services and Polycom video conferencing systems available in a pay-as-you-go model. The VNOC service is powered by Polycom UC Intelligent Core infrastructure, and expertise from FVC in successfully delivering video conferencing and VNOC services.
du’s managed services are aimed at helping enhance the value of IT business investments through improved operational efficiency and service levels. The services allow businesses to maintain as much or as little control over their IT operations and infrastructure as they desire, while they focus on their core business activities.
In addition to the healthcare sector, du will also leverage Polycom’s video conferencing systems to share similar applications in the hospitality sector.
