Altosys Software Technology Ltd, the Chennai-based offshore projects development company, has launched cost-effective TeleHealthCare Systems, in collaboration with Scotty, the UK-based manufacturers of videophone tele-healthcare kit.

The Altosys Scotty Healthcare Systems, which offers remote contact with doctors of their choice to users, will enable individual patients to connect directly to hospitals and doctors by dialling a phone number in the equipment from their residence itself. The company informed that the product would be made available at a tenth of the cost of the ones that are now available in hospitals, and plans are there to make the kit available for hire.

The Altos Scotty TeleHealthcare Systems is equipped with a Care Station remote diagnostic kit, which transmits vital medical information, such as a patient's pulse, ECG, blood pressure, temperature and other such readings, directly to a doctor sitting miles away. The company officials said that the inputs provided by the system have proved to be extremely accurate during trials and testing of the product.

The portable size easy to handle equipment creates data of each session of consultation, which allows both patients and doctors to refer to earlier readings, findings and advice. The healthcare systems has been approved by US FDA and has been developed in accordance to international medical and health care standards like HL7, HIPAA, PIPEDA and DICOM, which emphasizes the intra-operability with other medical software, said the officials in a press conference.

The Apollo Telemedicine Network Foundation (ATNF), the telemedicine division of Apollo Groups of Hospitals, has plans to use the equipment through its domiciliary telemedicine project. As Pharmabiz reported earlier, the division will test the efficacy of the product by evaluating the pilot project of first few months. The ATNF can develop its services to more extend with the help of the equipment, said Prof. Ganapathy, Head, ATFN.