Overcoming the digital divide: Assessing and developing video conferencing-based tele-health solutions in bandwidth-constrained rural and remote Areas

克服数字鸿沟：在带宽有限的农村和偏远地区评估和开发基于视频会议的远程医疗解决方案

基本信息

批准号：
463490-2014
负责人：
Zheng, Rong
金额：
$ 1.82万
依托单位：
McMaster University
依托单位国家：
加拿大
项目类别：
Engage Grants Program
财政年份：
2014
资助国家：
加拿大
起止时间：
2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=558437
关键词：
Overcoming digital divide Assessing developing

项目摘要

With aging population and growing demands in quality healthcare in Canada, healthcare costs are expected to significantly increase in the coming decades. Tele-health solutions have great potentials in reducing the cost and improving the accessibility of health care. However, in rural communities or remote areas, existing Internet connectivity is inadequate to allow for high-quality video transmission, and existing video conferencing technologies lack the ability to work effectively under extremely low bandwidth conditions on low-cost accessible mobile consumer devices. In this project, we will address the afore-mentioned challenges in two stages. First, we will evaluate the performance of a state-of-the-art videoconferencing solution on mobile and web-based platforms. Evaluations will be conducted in both controlled as well as field environments. Second, based on the quantitative measurement study and qualitative insights gained from the first stage, we will develop adaptation techniques that automatically select codecs and communication modalities using both in-band signaling (e.g., via RTCP) as well as out-band measurements (e.g., packet pairs) to optimize MOS in low-bandwidth conditions. The outcome of the project not only is beneficial in extending quality care to remote communities in Canada but also can make Canada-based companies more competitive in global healthcare markets.

随着人口老龄化和加拿大质量医疗保健需求不断增长，预计在未来几十年中，医疗保健成本将大大增加。远程医疗解决方案在降低成本和改善医疗保健的可及性方面具有巨大的潜力。但是，在农村社区或偏远地区，现有的Internet连接不足以允许高质量的视频传输，现有的视频会议技术缺乏在低成本可访问的移动消费设备上在极低的带宽条件下有效工作的能力。在这个项目中，我们将在两个阶段解决上述挑战。首先，我们将评估移动和基于Web的平台上最先进的视频会议解决方案的性能。评估将在受控和现场环境中进行。其次，基于从第一阶段获得的定量测量研究和定性见解，我们将开发适应技术，这些技术会自动选择使用频段信号（例如，通过RTCP）以及带外测量值（例如，数据包对）的编解码器和通信方式（例如，通过RTCP）（例如，数据包对），以优化低频率条件下的MOS。该项目的结果不仅有益于将优质护理扩展到加拿大的偏远社区，而且还可以使加拿大公司在全球医疗保健市场中更具竞争力。