Bai V Thulasi, Murali V, Kim R, Srivatsa S K
Sathyabama University, Chennai, India.
Telemed J E Health. 2007 Jun;13(3):313-21. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2006.0048.
Undoubtedly, blindness is a major trauma, which affects an individual not only physically but also emotionally. There are approximately 46 million visually impaired people throughout the world. It is becoming a global problem. In India alone, 19 million people are totally blind or else have visual defects. Out of this 19 million, 15 million reside in rural areas. India is among the countries which suffers from a shortage of doctors. There are only about 12,000 ophthalmologists in India, with most concentrating their practice in urban localities. Additionally, the inadequate infrastructures of roads, telecommunication, transport and financial status of the patients make it even more difficult to provide health care in rural areas. Teleophthalmology is a new branch of telemedicine that offers solutions to this serious problem. This paper discusses Indian teleophthalmology projects known as Sankara Netralaya Teleophthalmology Project (SNTOP) and Aravind Teleophthalmology Network (ATN). These have proven successful in the state of Tamilnadu, India, both in rural and secondary healthcare centers.
毫无疑问，失明是一种重大创伤，它不仅会对个人造成身体上的影响，还会带来情感上的冲击。全球约有4600万视力受损者。这正成为一个全球性问题。仅在印度，就有1900万人完全失明或存在视力缺陷。在这1900万人中，有1500万人居住在农村地区。印度是医生短缺的国家之一。印度仅有约12000名眼科医生，其中大多数集中在城市地区执业。此外，道路、电信、交通等基础设施不足以及患者的经济状况，使得在农村地区提供医疗保健变得更加困难。远程眼科是远程医疗的一个新分支，为这一严重问题提供了解决方案。本文讨论了印度的远程眼科项目，即桑卡拉奈特拉亚远程眼科项目（SNTOP）和阿拉文德远程眼科网络（ATN）。这些项目在印度泰米尔纳德邦的农村和二级医疗中心都已证明是成功的。
