Transmision de signos vitales "en vuelo" a traves de internet

Background: in-flight medical emergencies are very frequent and lead many times to emergency landings with the consequent increase in risk and cost that in most of the cases wouldn't have been necessary if they had the monitoring of the vital signs of the affected passenger. Objective: to test the feasibility of using Internet as a cost-effective way of broadcasting vital signs in real-time from an aircraft. Method: real vital signs and simulations were made from aircrafts parked in airports and during a regular flight, using cellular telephony, hardware of common use, own designed software and a standard connection to Internet. Results: different hemodynamic alterations generated by a computerized vital signs simulator and real vital signs were successfully transmitted and in the whole they were correctly diagnosed by the staff's physicians of the hospitals participating in the project. Conclusions: in-flight monitoring of the vital signs of a passenger in medical emergency permits a better comprehension and an early managing of its pathology, as well as to optimize the decision making process leading either to the resolution of the emergency, its transient improvement until its arrival or the urgent indication of a justified emergency landing.