Each year, France’s Franche-Comté region treats more than 4,500 Cerebral Vascular Accidents (CVAs). Unfortunately, it also faces frequent CVA specialist shortages on top of lengthy transfer times to the regional referral center, Neurological Emergencies Network of Franche-Comté (RUN-FC). Knowing that CVA diagnosis relies on the speed of administering care, the region needed to improve its process.


A Collaborative Technology Partnership

To guarantee improvement, RUN-FC desired a telemedicine solution for remote communication to quickly determine the diagnosis and appropriate treatment. This required a system capable of viewing the patient, speaking with ER physicians and sharing real-time data, including high-definition imaging. 
 
Telediagnosis specialist Covalia turned to network video leader Axis Communications to collaborate with neurologists and develop Covotem video solutions – a high-definition network video solution allowing teleconsultation. This consists of three parts: a software platform, an Axis network camera and a high-quality sound system so physicians can easily connect with one another.

“We were attracted to Axis’ strong reputation and the implementation of a technology partnership. This helped us easily integrate cameras into software we had designed, while also allowing remote control through our own application,” explains Eric Garcia, CEO and founder, Covalia.


Rapid Improvement through Network Video

The regional Covotem solution quickly improved patient care and working conditions for medical teams. It guarantees rapid, high-quality verbal and visual communication, and has reduced unnecessary inter-hospital transfers. 
 
“Healthcare professionals value high-performance, easy-to-use cameras that help them quickly connect with each other and share medical imaging in real time. This collaborative work allows them to diagnose CVA cases quickly and define the proper treatment as soon as possible, while controlling the cameras remotely and viewing the patient in a dynamic, clear way,” concludes Garcia. “Seeing this success, we plan to equip five or six additional rooms by the end of 2010.”