Cisco is working with Japanese technology provider NTT to help Siriraj Hospital, Thailand’s oldest and largest hospital, use telemedicine to enable rapid treatment for stroke patients.

Known as the Siriraj Mobile Stroke Unit, this special ambulance connects the first responders in the ambulance to the experts at the Bangkok hospital. This means doctors can provide immediate attention, medical treatment and diagnosis to patients during their transfer to the hospital.

“NTT believes in using technology for good and we are honoured to help Siriraj Hospital provide better care to patients,” said Sutas Kongdumrongkiat, CEO of NTT in Thailand. “We understand the importance of timely treatments in stroke patients, which can sometimes be difficult with Bangkok’s frequent traffic congestions. We have already installed these technologies in the first mobile stroke unit and are set to extend Siriraj Hospital’s fleet of mobile stroke units by five this year.”

Equipped with medical image transfer technology with a high-speed multicellular router and medical equipment such as CT scanner, the Mobile Stroke Unit helps the medical team scan the patient’s brain and send high-resolution images from the ambulance to the doctors for rapid diagnosis.

Cisco Telepresence video conferencing system was integrated to enable doctors to assess the patient’s condition and provide remote advice to the first responders, allowing them to prepare the best treatment. Cisco WebEx lets the mobile and hospital-based teams collaborate and work seamlessly.

“Siriraj Mobile Stroke Unit demonstrates how technology is transforming healthcare,” said Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University. “With a more stable and reliable communication system, our doctors can now have quicker access to accurate information such as brain scan images to make quality diagnosis and improve patient treatment.”

Taveewat Chantaraseno, Cisco country manager for Thailand, added: “We are proud to have a joint partnership with NTT which makes the best use of remote telemedicine technology to provide first-class care for the Siriraj Mobile Stroke Unit. Through this partnership, we will offer a new way to help stroke patients receive emergency medical care when time is of the essence for their recovery. This will help give patients a greater opportunity to recover and return to their normal lives.”

In service since 2018, the Siriraj Mobile Stroke Unit has helped 380 stroke patients receive emergency medical treatment in Thailand so far. The outcome resulted from the use of telemedicine technology and communications systems that help Siriraj’s medical teams expand the reach of its medical care, thus saving time and lowering the risk of death and disabilities to the stroke patients.

As a global ICT provider, NTT employs more than 40,000 people across 57 countries, trading in 73 countries and delivering services in over 200 countries and regions.