The ENN project—A telematics experience in neurology

SummaryThe ENN project was developed by a multidisciplinary European consortium including 39 partners. The main objective was the creation of a multimedia telematics network to give support to GPs in the fields of sleep, headache and epilepsy, which are considered high global-burden diseases.A multi-step strategy was used to evaluate user needs: evaluation of GPs' knowledge and needs; prediction of GPs' attitudes, concerning the use of telematics tools; evaluation of sleep recording costs.These evaluations led to the development of a set of prototypes: three tutorials for the education of users; a sleep atlas establishing examples of case studies; expert systems on sleep and headaches; signal processing and remote monitoring systems. These were supported by communication network facilities. Dissemination of activities and adequate management of the consortium assured teamwork efficiency.ZusammenfassungDas ENN-Projekt wurde von einem multidisziplinären Konsortium bestehend aus 39 Partnern entwickelt Das Hauptziel war die Erstellung eines multimedialen Telematik-Netzwerkes zur Unterstützung von niedergelassenen Ärzten auf den Gebieten von Schlaf, Kopfschmerz und Epilepsie, denn diese Krankheitsbilder gelten weltweit als hohe Belastung. Um die Anforderungne seiters der Anwender zu bestimmen, wurde eine mehrstufige Strategie angewandt: Evaluierung des Wissens niedergelassener Ärzte und deren Bedürfnisse: Vorhersage zum Gebrauch von telematischen Werkzeugen durch niedergelassene Ärzte; Evaluation der Kosten für polysomnographische Registrierungssysteme.Diese Evaluierungen führten zur Entwicklung verschiedener Prototypen: dei, Tutorials zur Fortbildung von Anwendern; ein Schlaf-Atlas mit repräsentativen Fallbeispielen; Expertensysteme zu Schlaf und Kopfschmerz; Signalverarbeitungs- und Fernüberwachungssysteme. Die Prototypen wurden durch Kommunikationsnetzwerke unterstützt. Die Effizienz in der Teamarbeit wurde durch Verteilung der Aktivitäten und ein adäquates Konsortiums-Management gewährleistet.

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