The portable satellite solution.

The portable satellite solution was up and running within minutes in Tully and Cardwell, providing always-available bandwidth for voice and data communications when all other communication connections failed.

ReadyCONNECT™ will be used by the Department of Community Safety (DCS) in devastated areas of tropical North Queensland as required, assisting the efforts of emergency relief agencies and individuals now facing the tough task of returning life to normal for thousands of Queenslanders.

State Fire Commander Assistant Commissioner Steve Rothwell said: "The ReadyCONNECT™ satellite system supported our fire operations in both Cardwell and Tully in the immediate aftermath of TC Yasi. We were in a situation where we had initially no power or communications and the system allowed us to communicate and effectively manage tasking, resources and damage assessments.

"Just today, the system is being moved into our base of operations where we are providing support to Red Cross and a number of other agencies that will provide a wireless network for all to use. The system has been of great advantage to us during this period and supplemented our existing systems well."

Paul Krzystoszek, ASC’s Operations and Marketing Manager, said that the Adelaide-based satellite communications specialist pulled out all the stops to respond to the request from DCS.

“It was a logistical challenge to get the unit, which fits in four flyaway cases, to the location due to lack of flights and road closures,” Mr Krzystoszek said.  “ReadyCONNECT™ had to be airlifted to its destination and was delivered within 24 hours of the request from DCS.”

ASC launched ReadyCONNECT™ last year, making high capacity, multi Mbps (megabits per second) commercial communications available anywhere in the Asia Pacific region that might experience an emergency or natural disaster.

ASC covers the region from its owned and operated teleport in Adelaide and hub in Hawaii via GE23 satellite.

 “With so many disasters around the world, one always hoped that a disaster of this magnitude would not occur in Australia," ASC Managing Director Chris Joseland said. "Lack of communication puts lives at risk and creates massive logistical problems.  Our solution is one that can be on hand immediately in the event that the unthinkable happens, as while we cannot predict disasters, we can prepare for them. "

Communication Media.

Following are the major communication media used today.
1. Twisted-Wire Pair: Twisted wire pairs are commonly used in local telephone communication and for short distance digital data communication. These are usually made up of copper and the pair of wires is twisted together. Data transmission speed is normally 9600 bits per second in a distance of 100 meter. They are affected by noise. They get weakened over long distances and therefore need to be boosted.

2. Coaxial Cables: Coaxial cable is a group of specially wrapped and insulated wires that are able to transfer data at higher rate. They consist of a central copper wire surrounded by an insulation over which copper mesh is placed. They are used for long distance telephone lines and local area network for their noise immunity and faster data transfer.

3. Microwave: Microwave system uses very high frequency radio signals to transmit data through space. The transmitter and receiver of a microwave system should be in line-of-sight because the radio signal cannot bend. With microwave very long distance transmission is not possible. In order to overcome the problem of line of sight and power amplification of weak signal, repeat ersare used at intervals of 25 to 30 kilometers between the transmitting and receiving end. This is a non-physical or un-guided communication media.

4. Communication Satellite: The problem of line-sight and repeaters are overcome by using satellites, which are the most widely used data transmission media in modern days. A communication satellite is a microwave relay station placed in outer space. INSAT-IB is such a satellite that is accessible from anywhere in India. In satellite communication, microwave signal is transmitted from a transmitter on earth to the satellite in space. The satellite amplifies the weak signal and transmits it back to the receiver. The main advantage of satellite communication is that it is a single microwave relay station visible from any point of a very large area. In microwave the data transmission rate is 16 giga byte per second. They are mostly used to link big metropolitan cities.

SIGNOS:The World’s Smallest Pocket Sized Ultrasound!

Not so long ago we heard of portable glucometers, digital pressure monitor and portable ECG equipment adding extra and valuable advantage to health care. The recently launched portable palm sized ultrasound ‘SIGNOS’ is the continuation of personalized health care. Apparently, SIGNOS is the world’s smallest pocket sized ultrasound. It also gave a new twist to medical innovation. More than anything else, this speaks of the power of technology. SIGNOS weighs less than 300 grams and has the same size of a PDA.
It provides fast and cost effective ultrasound system, besides featuring high image resolution. SIGNOS is so handy that doctors can wear it round their neck or can even be carried in their pocket. Due to the incorporation of Motion Space and Sector View technology, SIGNOS produces high resolution images on its display. It also has an internally operated Stethoscope and a 3.5MHz or a 7.5MHz transducer.
With the use of micro sd memory card, SIGNOS can save up to 20,000 images. These images can later be printed for detailed analysis and report printing purposes. With its great features, SIGNOS will surely receive a lot of attraction from tele medicine. This will be a great help for remote patient monitoring systems in the future and it will work the best in rural areas.