J Korean Soc Med Inform.  1998 Jun;4(1):47-56.

Development of Asymmetric Satellite Data Communication System and Evaluation Compared to Conventional terrestrial Network

• Lee MH
• Hwang SC
• Jeong TS
• Kim YM
• Choi HS
• Kim HJ

Abstract

We developed the Tele-PACS of radiology, which uses the communication network as asymmetric satellite data communication system. The asymmetric satellite data communication system uses receive-only satellite links for data delivery and PSTN(Public Switched Telephone Network) modem or N-ISDN(Narrow-band Integrate Services Digital Network) for communication. The satellite communication linking we implemented showed the very high-speed performance compared to the terrestrial linking such as 28.8 kbps modem linking or 56Kbps linking. The satellite linking was 5-10 times faster than the terrestrial linking on the average. We developed the down-link system of satellite and the medical collaborative tools and the Web-based Image-viewer. We concluded that 1) Satellite networking is currently the cheapest and fastest solution for internet access. 2) Web-based Image-Viewer enables small size hospitals in rural area to connect to the central PACS easily and to retrieve the image data reliably. 3) The suggested teleradiology system using satellite networking could be adequate to the fast telemedicine and telecare for rural hospitals especially located in geographically isolated areas such as islands.

Keyword

Asymmetric Satellite Data Communication System; Tele-PACS; Teleradiology; Medical Collaborative tools; Web-based Image-Viewer

MeSH Terms

Hospitals, Rural
Internet
Islands
Modems
Satellite Communications
Telemedicine
Telephone
Teleradiology