The future of technology seems to always be rooted in the entertainment industry. New formats like the CD, and later, the DVD, are based on either movies or gaming. It is as if we think cool technology is the limited domains of Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
But technology is nothing more than applied science. And some of the coolest applied science is found in the medical field. The technology that entertains you when you’re well doesn’t hold a candle to the technology that helps diagnose you when you’re sick.
As consumer grade and industrial grade technologies converge, we get ever closer to the Star Trek future where dialysis is replaced by a kidney-growing pill. Till then, there is still the cool application of technology that enables a virtual doctor’s visit:
The Tech Behind the Virtual House Call
As with so many things, it starts with the Internet. More specifically, it starts with broadband. Slow Internet speeds will greatly limit the usefulness of a video-based house call. In 2013, it was reported that 78% of U.S. households had broadband service. But that included speeds as low as 4 Mbps. Without going into too many technical details, suffice it to say that is really slow.
Earlier this year, the FCC ruled that broadband would be redefined to a more reasonable 25 Mbps or greater. That means that with the stroke of a pen, 12 million households no longer have anything close to what is considered broadband.
While the real broadband numbers are hard to nail down, if you are living in a city such as San Diego, you will have more than one provider. For fast business internet in San Diego, you have business-grade options like T1, DS3, fiber, and GigE with 99% uptime at competitive prices. For now, these are business to business technologies. It will be a long time before that level of service is common in U.S households. But when it is, you can expect a lot more than hi-def TV.
Lights… Camera… Say Ahhh…
Attached to your end of that fat data pipeline will need to be a high-quality camera pointed at a well-lit area. Most people have no idea what it takes to shoot professional-quality video. Quality acting and a well-written script notwithstanding, it takes a lot of light, and a relatively expensive camera to capture it.
WebMD reports Lindsay Kolowich’s visit with her E-doctor for pain after foot surgery. Not wanting to miss more work, she visited a doctor online: a procedure covered by an increasing number of insurance companies. The doctor was able to watch her flex her toes as a part of a self-examination. This was a simple use of a camera. Better cameras and lighting would likely be needed to visually examine moles and rashes. The better the camera and lighting, the better the examination can be at a distance.
Challenges and Potential
This is obviously not a reality for the average household. And it may never be. Medicine is a business, and requires commercial-grade technology. But it is very possible this could be implemented on a wide-scale from local clinics properly equipped with fiber and studio quality camera gear. You could potentially be seen by any doctor in the world, and not be limited to your local resources that just so happened to have an opening.
While insurance is getting wise to the benefits, more insurance companies will have to get onboard to make this happen for the masses. It will also have to be done in conjunction with some medical staff who can assist patients that are more seriously ill. Some things require touch, not to mention, labs. But this will not be a problem in the context of a clinic.
But the exciting fact is that, in a limited way, among a small group of people, it is already happening. It is not a game or a movie. And I can’t think of anything more cool than that.