Telemedicine in the British Antarctic survey

Medicine in the Antarctic is probably the most isolated situation in which a doctor can practise, differing in degree of severity even from that of the Arctic region. The increasing use of Telemedicine has helped to reduce this isolation and to improve access to secondary healthcare for those who live in the most remote bases in the world. The article describes the way in which Antarctic Telemedicine has evolved in the British Antarctic survey, outlining the use of low cost and low technology systems to improve the availability of emergency advice, both to the doctor and to isolated field parties, specialist consultation, medical education, and healthcare records. The Antarctic is a useful proving ground for technologies which may have applications in space and other extreme and isolated environments.