The Applied Physics Laboratory is conducting the Lincoln Carrier Battle Group telemedicine experiment as part of its Biomedical and Health Care Program. The system developed by the Laboratory consists of several inexpensive workstations, including two deployed on the USS Abraham Lincoln and three on selected ships in the Carrier Battle Group. These ships are networked to four land-based sites, including APL. Using low-data-rate transmissions through COMSAT Corporation's Inmarsat communications satellites, physicians at Hopkins and elsewhere are providing diagnostic and operative consulting, resulting in fewer medical evacuations and better medical care. The telemedicine system is also being used in special circumstances for televisiting between Navy personnel and their families. The article in this issue by V. L. Pisacane entitled "Telemedicine: Health Care at a Distance" describes APL's telemedicine initiative in more detail and also discusses the technologies integral to telemedicine.
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