A laboratory for testing the interoperability of telehealth systems

Interoperability allows telehealth equipment to interact to achieve predictable results. To address the need for telehealth interoperability, the Alberta Research Council has been working with the Alberta Health and Wellness organization in Canada, and others, to create guidelines and a facility for testing telehealth equipment for compliance with technical interoperability standards. The laboratory consists of two rooms (7 m x 7 m) in a new building. The rooms are wired with easy-to-configure copper and fibre networks for telephone, Switch-56, ISDN, ATM, wireless and satellite services. One room specializes in teleconsultation and tele-education, while the other has facilities for teleradiology and telemonitoring. The rooms are interconnected in order to perform interoperability tests between realtime and store-and-forward equipment. The laboratory was piloted in the summer of 1999.