The Indian space agency and the armed forces have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expand the satellite-based telemedicine facilities for the military personnel posted in border areas.
The MOU included the maintenance of existing telemedicine nodes and adding new ones for the troops in forward areas, according to government officials aware of the matter.
The MOU was signed after both the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reviewed the existing satellite-based telemedicine infrastructure and had a dialogue on the future roadmap for next-generation facilities and systems for serving the troops.
The MOU, signed for the MoD by Air Marshal Shankar Subramanian and for ISRO by Nilesh M. Desai, caters to the critical medical care for soldiers posted in remote, high-altitude, and inaccessible areas of India’s borders with its arch rivals, China and Pakistan, where conventional healthcare is unavailable.
Under the MOU, ISRO would establish 53 additional telemedicine nodes in the first phase, adding to the existing 20 nodes for the army, navy, and air force.
The first phase of the project would focus on high-altitude areas, with specialised nodes already deployed in the Siachen Glacier being expanded to other regions. This would enable frontline soldiers to have specialist consultancy through real-time video, audio, and data links.
The satellite-based telemedicine system would use the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) for video-conferencing and medical diagnostic software to transmit data such as ECG reports and X-Rays.
Presently, around 190 telemedicine nodes have been set up all over the country for use by the defence personnel, according to the officials.
The system’s expansion would provide the troops, who are far away and deployed in harsh terrain and weather conditions, with access to much-needed healthcare, the officials said.