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Tele-health network to span entire TN

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DQW Bureau
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Anna University has entered into a partnership with Apollo Telemedicine
Network Foundation (ATNF) to provide Tele-health service at 240 Engineering
Colleges in Tamil Nadu. Under this agreement, Apollo would be providing its
telemedicine services to all the 240 Engineering colleges of Anna University
whereby the students, teachers, faculty and also the villages around these
colleges would be benefited by telemedicine. With this, Tamil Nadu turns the
first state in the world to be networked through Tele-health to reach out to the
rural population. J Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu would inaugurate
the Anna University - ATNF Tele-Health unit on December 14, 2002 in the presence
of the President APJ Abdul Kalam on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee
celebrations of Anna University.

Speaking during the pre-launch ceremony E Balaguruswamy, Vice Chancellor,
Anna University termed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Anna
University and ATNF as a landmark initiative since the project would reach out
to 85 percent of the total population of Tamil Nadu. The engineering colleges
would act as nodal service center or community service center.

AIDS awareness program would be an integral part of the Telemedicine network.
Out of the 45 lakh HIV positive, a major chunk constitute the youth. "So
this association with Anna University will help the students, staff and the
villages adopted by these colleges to avail the HIV services of Apollo. They
will get awareness on HIV and our value-added services also. With assistance
from National Aids Control Organization this project can move more
effectively," said Dr Usha Rani.

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The pre-launch ceremony also witnessed tele-neurological consultancy and
congenital heart examinations of patients sitting in Madurai Engineering
College.

"Connecting the 240 colleges through Tele-health network would be
completed within the next six months. With the existing back up communication
facility at the colleges and the coming of the optical fiber would reduce the
overall cost of implementing the telemedicine units," said Dr PC Reddy,
Executive Chairman of the Apollo Hospitals Group

Cyber News Service

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