Wireless Teleophthalmology: A Novel, Low-Cost, Flexible Network Architecture and Its Performance Evaluation for Remote Eye Care Solutions.

Abstract

This article proposes a novel, cost-effective, flexible, and easy-to-deploy wireless teleophthalmology network architecture and performance evaluation for its potential use in remote areas. This study has used practical telecommunication standards, which is widely deployed throughout India. In the proposed scenario, patient's eye images are obtained using a specified imaging modality, and then sent to a server at the primary eye care centre (PECC) using ZigBee a short-range wireless network. It is linked to the main server at the base eye hospital (BEH) through a GSM/UMTS (3G)/WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) network. After diagnostic evaluation of the eye image using various automated diagnostic software, data are sent to a physician in an urban center for further validation, which is connected through GSM/UMTS (3G)/WiMAX network. Performance evaluation of these wireless networks is carried out for their use in teleophthalmology application based on network parameters, namely throughput, average end-to-end delay, and average jitter. It is found that end-to-end delay is the most critical network parameter affecting overall quality of service (QoS) of the proposed teleophthalmology network. The results demonstrate that WiMAX is the most suitable network among the considered networks for connecting PECC nodes with BEH main server, and further connecting main server with a doctor on the move. It is also deduced that for a given set of QoS parameters, WiMAX supports a load capacity of 22,000 packets at center nodes and the main server and it performs well even when the mobility speed of doctor exceeds 200 KPH.