The Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine (NST) is located in the city of Tromsø in the north of Norway. The Centre’s mission is to produce and provide knowledge about telemedicine and e-health, both nationally and internationally. The goal is to ensure the integration of telemedicine services into health care. NST is internationally reknown and has been a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Telemedicine since 2002.
Strong Research Focus
One of NST’s strengths is applied research related to developing practical telemedicine solutions. Out of NST’s staff of around 100 people, more than half is engaged with research within technology, organisations, pedagogics, social sciences and clinical studies. At present, the Centre has some 15 PhD students making groundbreaking research within telemedicine.
Our projects range from needs assessment to the entire process of developing, implementing, and evaluating telemedicine and e-health solutions. The Centre’s mission is to provide concepts and advice on equipment and forms of organisation in order to help healthcare providers use telemedicine services effectively. We provide guidance and advice for those who want to implement services like teledialysis, teleradiology, telepathology, video conferencing and more.
International Cooperation
As part of the work as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Telemedicine, NST seeks to engage in international cooperation. Over the years, the Centre has done telemedicine feasibility studies and initiated collaboration in countries such as Botswana, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cuba, Afghanistan, Russia, Cambodia and Palestine.
Presently, we are implementing a telemedicine network in Palestine, connecting the rehabilitation centres in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the West Bank by video conference equipment. This project will improve the health services to the handicapped by allowing patient information to be sent from one centre to the other, when the patients themselves are not able to travel between centres.
Tromsø Telemedicine Laboratory
NST is also host and leading partner in a newly established research institute named Tromsø Telemedicine Laboratory (TTL). In TTL, the NST and nine other research partners will develop new technologies to ease the increasing burden on the health care system, due to an aging population and more chronic diseases. The work is sponsored by the Norwegian Research Council (NFR).
NORWEGIAN CENTRE FOR TELEMEDICINE
University Hospital of North Norway
PO Box 35 • NO-9038 Tromsø, Norway
Tel: +47 77 75 40 00 • Fax: +47 77 75 40 98
E-mail: post@telemed.no • Website: www.telemed.no