Hispasat and Comitas e-Health Will Provide Telemedicine Services by Satellite in Latin America
Hispasat has reached an agreement with Comitas e-Health to market its satellite telemedicine solution in remote areas of Latin America. This service may also be provided in mobility environments, such as boats. In this way, they will provide early medical attention in emergency situations or routine monitoring such as pregnancies, avoiding long and expensive trips.
This telemedicine solution consists of installing a teleconsultation, equipped with medical examination and diagnostic equipment that is connected to a hospital center where specialist doctors are located to care for the patient. Both locations will be connected via satellite by means of a high-quality videoconference capable of transmitting in real time the examination that the healthcare provider performs on the patient through various easy-to-use peripherals. This system makes it possible to know the patient's vital signs in real time, examine the skin, iris, throat or ears, as well as perform electrocardiograms or ultrasounds, among other analyses.
Hispasat and Comitas-eHealth have a long experience of collaboration and have worked together on several pilot projects that have demonstrated the effectiveness of this solution, the last of which was installed in Ecuador at the end of 2021. Comitas e-Health provides the hardware and the software, while Hispasat contributes its satellite capacity over the Latin American region. The universal coverage provided by the satellite also allows this solution to be implemented on board vessels to urgently attend to health problems of the crew on board.
As Ignacio Sanchis, Commercial director of Hispasat, explained, “we are fully committed to the social development of rural communities in Latin America through satellite. Comitas' sophisticated technological solution, combined with the coverage provided by our fleet of satellites, will guarantee access to comprehensive healthcare with guarantees at any point, however remote it may be”.
Aquilino Antuña, the CEO of Comitas e-Health, added that “we are highly satisfied to have reached this agreement, as Hispasat’s benchmark position as a satellite operator in Latin America was the best option to be able to roll out our solution in this region.”
Connectivity is a fundamental tool to promote equal development of society. However, the differences that exist in the deployment of infrastructures between the urban and rural world represent an obstacle to offer critical services such as healthcare to all citizens. For this reason, satellite technology, with its universal, fast and simple deployment, is an ideal tool to be able to extend this type of solution immediately and efficiently.