Connectivity is crucial for modern healthcare delivery and management.
Seamless communication, data exchange, and access to medical services are vital in health systems and applications, making connectivity through Satcom crucial for modern healthcare delivery and management. This became especially highlighted during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forced Acceleration to Digitisation
COVID-19 had a devastating impact on an unprepared health sector. However, the pandemic propelled its digitization at an unprecedented rate, notably through tele-consultations and digital analytics solutions. By utilizing telemedicine, patients could access a wide range of healthcare services without being limited by location or physical constraints. These connective solutions are relevant for remote regions which have limited medical professionals, specialists, and inadequate or no internet access.
The pandemic-driven shift toward telemedicine and digitisation has also paved the way for further widespread adoption of digital self-monitoring devices and applications. Digitisation of this type and connectivity can effectively manage chronic illnesses in real-time, such as tele-cardiology.
Meanwhile, ESA is expanding medical research through their expertise in human spaceflight and robotics. This research is enriching health applications, fostering technological advances in fields like tissue engineering and cancer research in microgravity environments. These developments showcase the relationship between space technology and medical research.
One Earth Balanced through ‘One Health’
However, space plays more roles than just connectivity and digitisation. Monitoring for environmental health conditions (pollution, pollen, population movement, etc.) through space technology provides vital information for real-time up to date health management, as well as for preventative measures. This is a core principle in ‘One Health’, an approach by the WHO to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment.
One Health is essential for understanding the effects of environmental changes, such as deforestation and extensive farming, on animal and human health, especially for water-borne and vector-borne diseases. The combination of shared datasets and AI will lead to improved scientific collaborations and enhanced abilities in disease monitoring, tracking, screening, mapping, and modelling.
