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Electric Telegraph Invented
“Born in Charlestown, Samuel Morse's interest in telegraphy began in 1832, spurred by the grief that he did not know that his wife was deathly ill until four days after she was buried, due to a lack of instantaneous long distance communication. Morse developed 'lightning wires' and 'Morse code,' an electronic alphabet that could carry messages. A line was constructed between Baltimore and Washington and the first message was sent in 1844." (Photo: http://sandiego.edu/gen/images3/1844morse.jpg) -
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Telegraph used for Medical Care in the Civil War
"Hot air balloons were often tehtered to the ground and elevated in the back of a battlefield with telegraph lines strung between them. This made communicating between different parts of a large battlefield very easy." (Source: Robert Peoples). -
First Wireless Transmission
"In October 1866, Mahlon Loomis demonstrated "wireless telegraphy" between two mountain peaks fourteen miles apart in Blue Ridge, Virginia, eight years before Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio, was born." (Photo:http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/s125.2a.jpg) -
Telephone Invented
In 1875, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first telephone transmission to his assistant Mr. Watson. It was: "Watson, come here, I need to see you." He was actually asking for Watson's help, as he had spilled acid on his leg. The call for medical help remotely marks the first event in modern telemedicine. (Photo: http://www.utdallas.edu/~rms023000/photophone.jpg) -
Photophone Invented
In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell used techniques similar to that of the telephone to create an array of mirrors that allowed for the transmission of information (mostly auditory) through light. This array is considered the precursor to fiber optic lines, which are widely used today for telemedical transmissions. -
First Television Patent Submitted
"At the age of 24, Paul Nipkow, and electrical engineering student, submitted a patent application for an "Electrische Teleskop" or electric telescope, the first electromechanical television system, and subsequently obtainted the first patent relating to a television apparatus." (Photo: http://www.zuschauerpost.de/zupo/images50/1884-nipkow.jpg) -
First EKG Transmission
Willem Leister Einthoven invented the electrocardiogram (EKG), as well as the first <i>portable</i> EKG. In 1906, Einthoven sent an EKG over telephone lines, the first example of modern telecardiology. -
"The First Exposition of Telecare": The Radio Doctor
"Perhaps it was the cover showed below of "Radio News" magazine from April 1924. The article even includes a spoof electronic circuit diagram which combined all the gadgets of the day into this latest marvel!" (Source: Dennis J. Streveler Ph.D) -
Binary Used for Digital Transmission
"In 1949, Claude Shannon and Robert Fano developed the first data compression algorithm, which assigns binary codes to unique symbols, expressed in Boolean binary algebra as 1 and 0. The units of information are binary digits, a phrase that was shortened to "bits." (Photo: http://landley.net/history/mirror/pre/shannon2.jpeg" -
The Nebraska Psychiatric Program
"[The Nebraska Psychiatric Institute] was founded under doctor Cecil Wittson at the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Nebraska in conjunction with Ron Dutton. The institute was the first to <i>practically</i> use closed circuit television and radio transmitted records for treating psychiatric patients." (Source: History of Telemedicine) -
NASA'S IMBLMS Outline Released
"As early as 1965, NASA's long-term plans called for longer-duration, multiperson, and progressively more complex and more distant space missions. The Life Sciences Team at NASA embarked on a major project "to develop an advanced measurement and care system called IMBLMS (Integrated Medical Behavioral Laboratory Measurement System. The IMBLMS document describes an essentially complete telemedicine system that could ultimately connect the entire nation." (Photo: http://images.alaska.edu -
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The Maturation Period
Since the late 1960's, there has been a massive booms of telemedical programs all over the United States. These are the few primary ones and the years they were established.<ul><li>Georgia Statewide Telemedicine Program - 1989</li><br><li>Arizona Telemedicine Program - 1973-</li><br><li>Texas Telemedicine - 1987</li><br><li>Alaskan Telemedicine Program - 1966</li></br></ol> -
ATS-1 Satellite Approved for Telemedical use by NASA
On December 7th, 1966, NASA launched the ATS-1 Satellite, the first satellite used for civic purposes, such as education, and telemedicine. This sparked the first of many telemedical satellite projects conducted by NASA over the next 50 years. (Photo: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/gif/ats1.gif) -
Founding of the Massachusetts General Hospital Telemedicine Program
In 1967, Logan International Airport established a link between its airport clinic and the local Massachusetts General Hospital to allow for specialists to provide immediate pre-/post-tarmac care. -
The New Hampshire-Vermont Program
"The New Hampshire - Vermont Medical Interactive Television Network was the third in this first cohort of pioneering telemedicine programs in the United States. This network was established towards the end of 1968, initially as a two-way television microwave link between Hitchcock Hospital at the Dartmout Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire, and Claremont General Hospita, abut 25 miles away." (Photo: http://10501231.nhd.weebly.com/index.html) -
First Internet Transmission
"On October 29, 1969 Leonard Kleinrock attempted the first host-to-host message transfer to th the node of his network established at the Stanford Research Institute. Kleinrock and his group of graduate students at UCLA hoped to log on to the Stanford computer and send it some data. They started by typing 'log in'. The system crashed after the first three letters." (Photo:http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/artwork/5/5/8/9/8/55898/Leonard_Kleinrock_photo-prv.jpg) -
ATS-6 Launched
"The launch of ATS-6 in 1974 ushered in a new era for satellite-based telemedicine experimentation. The ATS-6 provided new and expanded opportunities to test a variety of new space communications concepts requireing the use of geostationary spacecraft. It was the most technologically advanced communications satellite to that date in terms of its capacity, power, and precision." The amount of bandwidth offered by NASA to telemedical facilites opened a new door for telemedicine.(http://www.bu.edu) -
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Early Development of Internet
In the late 1970's, many researchers collaborated to put together a large network between universities and research labs for the sake of sharing data, for both educational an medical purposes. In the early 1990's, the internet went public, and its use for telemedical purposes boomed.
