Using cable television networks for interactive home telemedicine services

Most recent cable television network infrastructures can be used to deliver broadband interactive telemedicine services to the home. These facilities allow the provision of social and health services like medical televisiting for elderly, disabled and chronically ill patients; health tele-education; and teleconsultation on demand. Large numbers of patients could benefit fr om these services. There is also the increasing European tendency to offer customized home-care services. These applications are being developed and v alidated by a pilot project in Madrid as part of the ATTRACT project of the European Commission. The long-term aim is to develop broadband application s on a large scale to support low-cost interactive home telemedicine servic es for both patients and institutions.