The Rural Development Ministry and DRDO are working out the modalities to commercialise a system already in place for the Indian Army and Navy

Bangalore: Soon people living in rural and remote areas in India will have access to experts’ diagnosis and advises on their ailments without actually going to hospitals located in urban centers.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has decided to commercialise its telemedicine technology, primarily developed for the armed forces, to make it available for civilians especially in the remote and rural areas.

The Union Ministry of Rural Development and DRDO are in talks on the modalities to implement the new technology for the use of civilians.

Scientists at the Defence Bioengineering & Electromedical Laboratory in Bangalore developed the rugged and portable telemedicine system initially for defence forces.

DRDO Research Head W Selvamurthy said the system had undergone successful trials in the last six months, with both the Army and the Navy expressing their satisfaction.

Telemedicine technology is used to provide clinical healthcare at a distance through the use of information technologies and telecommunication, eliminating distance barriers especially in remote areas.

The technology allows patient and medical staff to communicate despite them being in different locations and transmit and share medical, imaging and health informatics data from one site to another.