Madrid - The pilot project1 of telemedicine systems on board the Spanish tuna fleet, the first of its kind in a fishery worldwide, has already enabled more than 100 queries and health emergencies to be attended to since it was launched on 12 vessels in September 2022.

 

This telemedicine project, integrated into OPAGAC's social sustainability policy to improve working and living conditions on board, has also collected data, such as drug treatments, previous surgeries or family history, of the 400 crew members participating in the pilot to Thus, periodically check their state of health.

 

It should be remembered that, last December, this project made it possible to diagnose and monitor, until his evacuation to the Seychelles, a myocardial infarction in a crew member that occurred on the high seas and fortunately had a positive outcome.

 

Each ship of the 12 participating in this pilot project -four in the Pacific Ocean, three in the Atlantic and five in the Indian Ocean- has a telemedicine team with instruments for monitoring vital signs (electrocardiogram, blood pressure, saturation of oxygen and temperature) and a camera for dermoscopic exploration. This equipment connects to the internet via satellite from the high seas, allowing the ship to receive medical attention from land in real time. This equipment is completed with circadian monitoring devices or activity bracelets that record the crew members' body temperature, physical activity or sleep cycles.

 

On land, the Vithas Vigo Hospital is in charge of providing the 24x7 telemedical service, through the evaluation of highly precise diagnostic tests carried out on board by the crew through telemedicine equipment, the use of which does not require prior healthcare knowledge.

 

In addition to improving medical care for any health incident on board, this system prevents transfer to port, in those cases that do not require assistance on land, and, therefore, the interruption of the ship's activity. It should be noted that, according to Vithas, 80% of health incidents on board can be resolved with the means available on the ship itself.

 

OPAGAC's objective with this project, developed in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Madrid, is to make the best tools available to shipowners to offer a connected and comprehensive medical service to the more than 2,400 crew members of its 48 ships, and reduce thus the accident rate on board and the costs derived from it.