A system for the transmission, processing and visualisation of EEG to support Irish Neonatal Intensive Care Units

A system, constructed as a “proof of concept”, for providing an Irish tele-neurophysiology service is presented. It is based on a distributed architecture and capable of handling synchronous data streams from multiple Irish Neonatal Intensive Care Units. It provides Ireland with an infrastructure for overcoming factors affecting the diagnosis of neurological disorders in neonates. The system supports collaborative efforts by neurophysiologists, removes geographical constraints on expert knowledge and allows for the creation of national data stores while simultaneously supporting the trans-Atlantic processing of EEG. Technical obstacles affecting its successful implementation are outlined and solutions proposed. The implementation of such a system could significantly improve the quality of care provided to neonates.