Global Telemedix moves toward debut of telemedicine rollabout workstation

Global Telemedix moves toward debut of telemedicine rollabout workstation

System to be co-marketed by VSI and BellSouth

Westford, MA-based Global Telemedix continues to make progress towards getting its telemedicine technologies to market. The company displayed its TeleMedix 2000 rollabout workstation in PictureTel's booth at the annual meeting of the American Telemedicine Association in April.

Developed as a joint project between Global Telemedix and videoconferencing integrator VSI Enterprises, TeleMedix 2000 is a PC-based workstation that can be configured to match the needs of specific specialties, according to Charles French, vice president of marketing and sales.

For example, dermatologists can use a mechanical arm equipped with a high-resolution camera to zoom in on a lesion, French said. TeleMedix 2000 complies with the H.320 and T.120 standards and will comply with the H.323 standard when that version's codecs are released, French said. Global Telemedix also has a desktop version of TeleMedix 2000, TeleMedix 200.

Both systems use TeleConsult, a telemedicine software application that facilitates features such as multimedia consultation records, medical imaging applications, and interactive collaborations.

As part of the company's building-block telemedicine approach, specialty plug-ins can also be added on to TeleConsult for a variety of different specialties, including dentistry, dermatology, ophthalmology, pathology, radiology, and ultrasound. These plug-ins offer an application interface targeted at matching the work flow for each specialty, according to the company.

For example, if the hospital has an electronic database, the radiology plug-in allows radiologists to view prior imaging studies, French said. Since the specialty plug-ins utilize a layer of Lotus Notes software, users can fine-tune the interface to match their particular needs, French said.

Global Telemedix plans to submit TeleMedix 2000 to the Food and Drug Administration for 510(k) clearance in the next few months, French said. Following the FDA's go-ahead, both TeleMedix 2000 and TeleMedix 200 will be sold by Global Telemedix as well as VSI through its direct sales force. Global Telemedix is also a telemedicine VAR for PictureTel, according to French.

Sales will also be generated through BellSouth's Network Complementary Applications program. BellSouth's Healthcare Group, of Birmingham, AL, is a strategic partner of VSI, headquartered in Norcross, GA.

Basic configurations of TeleMedix 2000 will carry a list price of approximately $40,000, with fully loaded systems costing up to around $70,000.