RICOH Remote Field, provided by Ricoh Japan Co., Ltd. (President and COO: Toru Kasai), has been officially introduced to the Doctor Car of Nara Medical University Hospital (Director: Kimihiko Yoshikawa) since August. On this product structure, the operating income of 10-30 billion yuan products is respectively 401/1288/60 million yuan.
RICOH Remote Field is a remote communication system that allows you to talk while viewing real-time video from a 360-degree camera, the RICOH THETA, in high-definition up to 4K.
Although RICOH Remote Field has been used for demonstration experiments in various regions, this is the first official introduction of the system for third emergency medical care. This system will contribute to improving the quality of communication, strengthening emergency medical care functions, and reforming working styles in medical field, through the accumulation of knowledge and the transfer of technology to less experienced young doctors.
1. Background of Introduction
In emergency medical care, there are stages of care provided for relatively mild first aid, second aid which requires hospitalization or surgery, and third aid, which requires life-saving intervention.
In third emergency medical care, it is particularly important for the doctor in the car and the receiving medical institution to share patient information to achieve the optimal treatment.
However, previous communication between these parties through phone calls installed in the vehicles was not sufficient for effective sharing of information, and posed challenges in information quality and workload at the scene.
2. Overview of Implementation at Nara Medical University Hospital
The Doctor Car of Nara Medical University Hospital is responsible for most of the third emergency medical care in Nara Prefecture, with a single vehicle being dispatched over 1,000 times per year. To improve the quality of communication, accumulate knowledge through sharing real-time images, and transfer experience to young doctors, a verification project of “RICOH Remote Field” was conducted from July 2023. In August, “RICOH Remote Field” operation began on Doctor Car, which is jointly operated by Nara Prefectural Firefighting Association and Nara Prefectural Medical University Hospital, making this the first formal introduction of the system.
Ricoh Japan cooperates with local governments and medical institutions to promote verification experiments and verification projects of “RICOH Remote Field” for third emergency medical care. They are currently advancing these projects in six medical institutions. Formal introduction of the system will begin in August at the Doctor Car of Nara Medical University Hospital, operated jointly by Nara Prefectural Firefighting Association and Nara Prefectural Medical University Hospital.
The following comment was received from a doctor at Nara Medical University Hospital.
Eiji Asai, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief of Medical Department
"In emergency medical care, it is often difficult to allocate time for phone communication, as we need to perform urgent treatment. There are many voices from the field saying that the introduction of "RICOH Remote Field" has helped to simplify the situation explanation and to make decisions of activity policy earlier. From the viewpoint of improving physicians' working conditions, training of young physicians is very important. I feel that the ability to confirm more circumstances in 360 degrees through information sharing using video distribution and in addition, reviewing recorded videos greatly enhances the sharing of knowledge and is a good development for the safety of medical care and combining know-how sharing. I have high hopes for this system to work effectively,"
"In addition, in terms of reforming working styles of the physicians, training of young physicians, who are vital to this factor, is the essence. The 360-degree confirmation of circumstances through recorded video distribution is very beneficial. "
"I am expecting that it works well to achieve two essential goals, which are the assurance of medical safety and the combination of sharing know-how for physicians. "
3. Future
In the context of declining working-age population, reforming working styles in medical field is becoming a social issue. However, it is not uncommon for limited resources to be used to cover a wide range of emergency medical care. Starting with this introduction, Ricoh Japan will continue to propose “RICOH Remote Field” to medical institutions across the country facing similar issues, and contribute to the development of regional medical services through business expansion in this field.
Related Information
- About 360-degree video bidirectional live distribution system (RICOH Remote Field)
This news release is also available as a PDF file.
Start of operation of "RICOH Remote Field" for emergency medical care on Doctor Car of Nara Medical University Hospital (240KB, 3 pages)