**8. Telemedicine**

Recently telemedicine applications were implemented by on-line secure transmission over Internet of echocardiography and angiography images over public network (project for telediagnosis between Balkan countries and GPH – Massa) (Taddei, 2011; Gori et al., 2010). Real-time capability is crucial for allowing specialists to drive remotely proper echo scanning of cardiac structures in patient or foetus with suspected congenital heart disease.

Recently telemedicine applications were implemented by on-line secure transmission over Internet of echocardiography and angiography images over public network (project for telediagnosis between Balkan countries and GPH – Massa) (Taddei, 2011; Gori et al., 2010). Real-time capability is crucial for allowing specialists to drive remotely proper echo scanning of cardiac structures in patient or foetus with suspected congenital heart disease.

Fig. 12. The PACS

Fig. 13. Fetal tele-echocardiography

**8. Telemedicine** 

Fig. 14. Use of videoconferencing equipment in tele-echocardiography

Fig. 15. Tele-consulting for collaborative diagnosis and care planning: diagnostic images are transferred via Internet (on-line or off-line) from remote clinical centers to the reference one.

Fig. 16. Tele-consulting network between Massa Hospital and Balkan Centers

Tele-echocardiography was initially implemented in pediatric centers of Banja Luka and Rijeka and Gynecology University Hospital in Tirana, using videoconferencing equipment for transmitting on-line over Internet sequences of diagnostic images. Limitations in terms of functionality, versatility, scalability and cost/effectiveness suggested exploitation of Open-Source technology to set up low-cost devices implementing both live and store-andforward teleconsulting as well as videoconference and image storage/management.

These devices are generally prone to promote collaborative health-care in various medical fields even in remote Countries not able to acquire expensive medical technology.
