In-Flight Medical Technology Debuts

Airline passengers suffering in-flight medical emergencies may soon be just a phone call away from immediate help because of a revolutionary new technology tested Thursday at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center.

In a first-ever simulation, vital signs and photographic images from an American Airlines passenger on a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago were transmitted instantaneously by phone line to emergency-room doctors in Laguna Hills.

With the immediate medical information, doctors will be able to treat patients in flight.

The tests prove doctors “can do the same thing at 30,000 feet that we can do on the ground,” Saddleback Memorial’s Dr. Wesley Fields said.

With the help of a seatback cellular phone, a portable patient monitor sends critical medical information, such as blood pressure and heart rates, to the emergency room. A laptop computer and camera also are patched through the cellular line, so the patient and doctor can talk or communicate through electronic messages.

Known as “telemedicine,” the technology was developed nearly two years ago by Kevin Montgomery of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Dr. Alex Gandsas, a Michigan surgeon, and George Migliarini, a computer expert at Saddleback Memorial.

Airline officials say in-flight medical emergencies are not unusual. American Airlines diverted 157 flights in 1995 for medical reasons. Doctors said most emergencies involve passengers with heart or breathing problems.

Fields said there are no immediate plans for airplanes to use the technology because many legal and logistical issues remain unresolved.