Dedication of INSAT- 3C to the Nation and Inauguration of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Tele-medicine Project
The Prime Minister Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (July 3, 2002)
dedicated ISRO’s INSAT-3C to the nation and inaugurated the
Tele-medicine Project for Andaman and Nicobar Islands at a function
organised from ISRO’s Delhi Earth Station. The Prime Minister was
accompanied by Minister of State for Space, Smt Vasundhara Raje, and
Principal Secretary Mr Brajesh Mishra. Lt Governor of Andaman and
Nicobar Mr N N Jha participated in the function from Port Blair end.
Also present were the Secretaries of some of the INSAT user
Department. Dr K Kasturirangan, Secretary, Department of Space
welcomed the gathering and introduced the subject.
Dedication of INSAT-3C to the Nation
INSAT-3C was launched by an Ariane launch vehicle of Arianespace from
Kourou, French Guyana on January 24, 2002. Following the launch, the
satellite was successfully manoeuvred by Master Control Facility,
Hassan, in Karnataka, to place it in the geo-stationary orbit by using
the satellite’s liquid apogee motor. The deployment of the appendages
like the solar arrays and antennas, three-axis stabilisation of the
spacecraft and testing of all the transponders on board the satellite
have been completed and the satellite has been positioned in its
designated slot at the 74 degree East Longitude.
INSAT-3C carries 24 C-band transponders, six extended C-band
transponders, two S-band transponders and a Mobile Satellite Service
transponder operating in S-band up-link and C-band down link. INSAT-3C
is the second satellite to be launched in the INSAT-3 series. The
first satellite, INSAT-3B, was launched on March 22, 2000. INSAT-3C is
expected to augment the present INSAT capacity for communication and
broadcasting, besides providing continuity of the services of
INSAT-2C.
Inauguration of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Tele-medicine Project
One of the recent applications of space technology, initiated by ISRO
in recent time, is in the field of tele-medicine to provide expert
medical services to the rural and remote areas. Under the project,
hospitals/health centers in remote locations are linked via INSAT
satellites with super specialty hospitals at major towns/cities,
bringing in connectivity between patients at remote end with the
specialist doctors for medical consultations and treatment.
Tele-medicine pilot projects are undertaken by ISRO in collaboration
with various State Governments through the involvement of selected
super specialty Hospitals located in major cities and smaller health
centers in distant and rural areas.
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands Tele-medicine Project links the G B Pant
Hospital, Port Blair with Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research
Institute (SRMC&RI), Chennai. The Project is undertaken in
collaboration with the Andaman & Nicobar Administration, and SRMC&RI,
Chennai.
About Telemedicine:
Telemedicine system consists of customized medical software integrated
with computer hardware, along with medical diagnostic instruments
connected to the commercial VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) at
each location. Connectivity is provided through the INSAT system.
Generally, the medical record/history of the patient is sent to the
specialist doctors, who will in-turn study and provide diagnosis and
treatment during videoconference with the patient’s end. Telemedicine
helps patients in distant and rural areas to avail timely
consultations of Specialist Doctors without going through the ordeal
of traveling long distances, at large expense. The facility caters
normally for transmission of patient’s medical images, records, output
from medical devices, besides live two-way audio and video. With the
help of these, a Specialist Doctor could advise a Doctor or a
paramedic at the patient’s end, online, on medical care or even guide
the Doctor during a surgery. In the context of distant and rural
areas, the tele-medicine based medical care is also highly cost
effective.
Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute, Chennai
Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute (SRMC&RI),
Chennai was established by Shri N P V Ramasamy Udayar in 1985 as a
‘not for profit’ Trust for medical education, health care and
research. The institute, spread over an area of 175 acres, has been
recognized as a Deemed University since 1994. The College wing of
SRMC&RI, with about 5500 students, offers Graduate and Post-Graduate
courses in various Medical and Para-medical Sciences, and
super-specialty courses in Cardiology, Neurology, Neurosurgery,
Genito-Urinary surgery and Cardio-thoracic surgery. The Hospital wing
of the SRMC&RI has over 1500 beds and about 250 specialist Doctors.
GB Pant Hospital, Port Blair
Located in the premises of the historic Cellular Jail, the G B Pant
Hospital at Port Blair is the only referral hospital for the entire
group of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Set-up initially in 1963, the
Hospital now has about 500 beds. A large number of outpatients are
treated at the hospital everyday. The Hospital has about 40 Doctors
including a few specialists. Super Specialty services in cardiology,
cardio-thoracic surgery, neurology, nephrology, gastro-enterology,
urology, plastic surgery, etc. are obtained from the main land. A & N
Administration also provides Air Ambulance Services to patients with
medical emergencies.
During the inaugural function today, a demonstration of telemedicine
by expert doctors of Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital was also
carried from Chennai examining the patients and their records at Port
Blair through the telemedicine network.
Other ISRO’s Telemedicine Projects
Project Specialty Hospital end Distant/Rural end
Andaman & Nicobar Islands Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Resaerch
Institute, Chennai GB Pant Hospital, Port Blair
Apollo-SHAR Apollo Hospital, Chennai ISRO’s SHAR Hospital,
Sriharikota
Aragonda Apollo Hospital, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore District Hospital,
Chamarajanagar
Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, Sargur, HD Kote Taluk, Mysore District
Tripura Narayana Hrudayalaya, BangaloreandRabindranath Tagore
International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Kolkata Tripura Sundari
District Hospital, Udaipur, South Tripura
Ladak All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi
District Hospital, Leh
UT of Lakshadweep Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Cochin
Indira Gandhi Hospital, Kavaratti
Orissa Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Medical Institute, Lucknow
District Hospital, Cuttack
Government Hospital at Sambalpur
