UNESCO Chair of Telemedicine (UNES_CT) was founded in 1999. Undertakes international activities related to the promotion of the information society and fights against technology transfer problems having the role of an “intermediate body”. The Chair is the first UNESCO Telemedicine Chair, and his activity is related with development and diffusion of Telemedicine and Information Society in Health Care in developing areas and undeveloped countries particularly South-America and Africa.

The expertise of the UNESCO chair of Telemedicine as a University Institution is based in the previous CATAI’s expertise founded in 1994 in the field of Information Society/Telemedicine

Telemedicine

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities...

with which is collaborating closely and from which received part of the sponsorship:

• Training and teaching aspects, to gain a minimal structured knowledge in Medical Informatics, have established the “Telemedicine Body of Knowledge” covering sociology, economics, technology transfer, technology and organizational issues, standardization, security and liability aspects in co-operation with the Universities of Queens-UK, Aveiro-PT, Belfast-IRL, Genova-IT, Innsbruck-AU, Udine-IT, Berlin-D, Athens-GR. CATAI published the first text-book of Telemedicine in English, complemented with a CD multimedia material particularly designed for developing countries, world wide known by Winter and Summer Courses of Telemedicine training following the “Telemedicine Body of Knowledge". At the present moment the book is translated into 6 languages (SP,E,IT,GR,FR,D) and is published in Spanish (PanAmerican Editorial) with title : “Telemedicine” 2001. Is participating in all editions of the European Telemedicine Glossary edited by the EC-DG Information Society. In the 4th Ed-2002 is the author of the Electronic Clinical Record.
• CATAI developed the Videophone network in Canary Islands in 1991 for distant support. At the present it includes the best practice implementation pilots in phone medicine (oncology -particularly home-care- and psychiatry -particularly childhood psychiatry), Tele-ECG and Tele-ultrasounds -particularly obstetrics & gynaecology.
• Fist in the world (1991) to carry out distant DNA quantitation, it was applied to image analysis prognostic factors in breast cancer. Objective image analysis and prognostic factors have been incorporated into the regional breast cancer registry of 3000 patients (see above);
• CATAI was the promoter of the Centre of Excellence in Telemedicine, sponsored by Science Park DG-XIII, with enrolment of 3 continents: Europe, Africa and America to concentrate best practice examples as well as top experts to implement real world applications and development of hardware-software systems ready to be used. These activities link mainly technological firms of the UK and Germany.

Leader of two EU projects (Leonardo-DG XXII ; Science Park-DGXIII) and participating in other two (DGXIII- Teleultrasound for developing countries; Leonardo-DGXXII Teaching Medical informatics). Leader in Canary Islands and in the main land - Barcelona- of a project on Telephonic Medicine. Partner in 5 EU projects ( Smart-USB; KOD or knowledge on demand, ASKLEPIOS, CHS or Citizen Home Services, CATAI-CTC)

UNESCO Chair of Telemedicine was involved in developing countries health support through the Midjan group-ITU-D working group of Telemedicine, TeleInViVo ultrasound devices with pilots in Katastan, Mali and Uganda. Promoting the network of Telemedicine together with Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, and participated in ITU-Developing Word Congress in Malta 1997, and Georgia Telemedicine meeting in 1999. Is currently actively working with South-America ( Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, Chile, Peru) and Africa (Uganda, Kenya)

Obtained awards:

• Economical initiatives, Canary islands 1995;
• Ordesa award in paediatrics 1989;
• Award Portugal-Spanish cooperation 1994;
• Award Royal Academy Medicine 1993 and 1999.
• Included in “Who is Who in the World” since 1996 scheduled up to 2000. Included in the 3rd Ed. of “Who is Who in Science and Engineering”.
• the Lattice Price 99 of ESF (European Science Foundation) in Innovation & Research in teaching, nominated by the STOA European Parliament Office.

External links

• UNESCO Chair in Telemedicine - CATAI - University of La Laguna (Spain)
• UNESCO Education Portal
• University of La Laguna