On September 29, 2010, the ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has published a Summary of Fact-finding Survey on the Required Number of Doctors in Hospitals.  The result shows that Japan has large regional differences of healthcare resource allocation, which has been a crucial issue.  

 A Tohoku University research group led by Professor Tomoyuki Yambe at Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer and Professor Makoto Yoshizawa at Cyberscience Center developed the telemedicine systems called Electronic Doctor’s Bag  that allow to send biological data including high-definition images in the mobile environment, and established a consortium to provide the ubiquitous communications system for healthcare in remote areas, home-visit medical services, mass examination, emergency care or disaster.

 After gaining an approval from the Medical Ethics Committee of Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, the research group will start a demonstration experiment of Electronic Doctor’s Bag to provide medical care in remote areas.  The clinical test will be conducted at Umuyasumyasu-n clinic in Okinawa’s remote Miyako Island in collaboration with Tokyo Denki University and other institutions starting October 18, 2010. 

[Basic Concepts]
Electronic Doctor’s Bag allows the following:
1. Visiting nurses bring Electronic Doctor’s Bag to home care patients
2. Transmitting moving images and biological data of patients to a doctor at a clinic
3. A doctor diagnoses patients at home using sent information
4. A doctor gives instructions to nurses, if necessary

More Information (Japanese)

[Contact]
Professor Tomoyuki Yambe
Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University
Address: 4-1 Seiryo-machi Aoba-ku Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan
TEL: +81-22-717-8513
E-mail: yambe*idac.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)