Scientific and technical Development of transtelephone Electrocardiography in foreign Countries during the 60-80s of the twentieth Century

Abstract

In the context of the scientific and technical history of electrocardiography, the development of transtelephone electrocardiography (tele-ECG) remains unexplored - as a set of technical and methodological aspects of remote ECG transmission via telecommunication. This direction played a significant role in medical science and practice in the middle of the twentieth century, in many ways it remains relevant to this day. The task of the study. To identify and systematize the patterns of development of scientific knowledge related to the creation and use of transtelephone electrocardiography technologies in the period of the 1960s-1980s in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Results. From the point of view of technical sciences, there were two main trends in scientific research: a) the design of hardware solutions for broadcasting and receiving ECG via cable or radio channels; b) the development of algorithms for computer analysis of ECG. From the point of view of medical sciences: a) clinical trials, including an assessment of the technical reliability of equipment; b) evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of remote (both "human" and machine) interpretation of ECG; c) study of the clinical significance of tele-ECG. When comparing the trends of scientific and technological development of transtelephone electrocardiography in foreign countries, it is obvious that the countries of Europe and Asia follow in the wake of medical science in the USA. In the studies of scientists from Eastern Europe, the influence of medical science of the USSR in the form of the use of tele-ECG in occupational medicine is noted. Conclusions. In the period of the 1960s-1980s, the scientific and technical development of transtelephone electrocardiography took place in many countries of the world, but the activity and significance of these processes seriously differed. The emergence of affordable and reliable technologies for remote counseling, as well as automated analysis of electrocardiography results, has become significant. The overall result was the emergence of clinically significant remote diagnostics techniques and new models of medical care organization based on them.