Amazon Virtual Medical Team Participates at Telemedicine Workshop in Manaus

As part of the goals to promote telemedicine in the remote regions of the world, Dr. Rifat Latifi, Associate Director of ATP, and Professor of Surgery at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, currently serving as Medical Director of the Amazon Swim Expeditions (www.amazonswim.com) stopped for two days in Manaus, in the State of Amazonas in Brazil, at the invitation of Prof. Cleinado Costa, co-coordinator of telemedicine group of the University, where he participated in the first telemedicine workshop in this region that was examining the need for the northern state of Brazil to connect through telemedicine and telehealth. During this conference where he gave the key note address titled “Telemedicine and telepresence in extreme conditions: From Arizona to Amazon”, Dr. Latifi was connected live to the Amazon Swim Expedition boat, with the legendary swimmer Martin Strel and Dr. Mateja de Leonni Stanonik, MD, PhD, who serves as expedition’s physician, using telemedicine technology provided by satellite.
Medical care has been provided to the Martin Strel and the expedition using Amazon Virtual Medical team from around the world, using mostly store and forward technology provided by General Device ^TM and 2Opinion^TM as well as Sonosite^TM and Zoll^TM.

Nearly 300 hundred participants experienced first hand the effect of telemedicine in most remote areas and the potential role of this technology in the under developed world. Dr Latifi reviewed the current state of the art of Arizona Telemedicine Program, in particular the teletrauma project of the University Medical Center’s only level One trauma center in Southern Arizona. He also served as visiting Professor at the State University of Amazonas and its new medical school, for two days, lecturing to residents, students and faculties.