Telemedicine in neurosurgery using international digital telephone services between Japan and Malaysia--technical note.

A new image transmission and teleconference system using international digital telephone services was established between Japan and Malaysia. This new system consists of an ordinary personal computer, image scanner, and terminal adapter for digital telephone lines. The quality of images transferred using this system was high enough for diagnosis and discussion except for images such as radiographs requiring huge data transfer. Transmission of one image took approximately 20 seconds. The cost performance was almost equal to the conventional mailing system. The most remarkable advantage of this new system is the high quality of transferred images, the cost and time performance, and security of the medical information. New communication systems using international digital networks including the internet may allow re-distribution of medical resources between advanced countries and developing countries in neurosurgery.