Remote anesthetic monitoring using satellite telecommunications and the Internet

Remote collaboration for anesthesia requires considerable sharing of physiologic data, audio, and images on a consistent data platform. A low-bandwidth connection between Ecuador and the United States supported effective joint management of operative plan, airway, intraoperative decisions, and recovery. Transmission with a 64-Kbps InMarSat satellite telephone (Thrane & Thrane, Denmark) connection from hospitals in Macas and Sucúa, Ecuador, to Richmond, Virginia, included preoperative patient evaluations, video of endotracheal intubations, electrocardiogram waveforms, pulse oximetry measurements, arterial blood pressure readings, capnography readings, and auscultation of breath sounds.