JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #120 - April 2018 - 4

OPlNlON future of medecine

"ln medecine, a good sensor is not
enough to get an accurate measurement"
Drawing on over 10 years of experience in telemedecine H4D has developed the Consult Station, a unique
and comprehensive solution designed to meet new
challenges in healtcare. Dr Baudino explains us what
benefits composite materials brought all along the
development of the project.

Dr Franck BauDino,
CEO & Founder
H4D

to connect a patient and a physician. These
days, 90% of the medical examinations
carried out in "standard" facilities can be
done remotely with sensors, an exchange
of information with the practitioner, and
the following of instructions, without compromising the essential patient/doctor trust
relationship.
Having some insight into communication
technology, I rapidly realized that the solutions proposing integrated sensors were not
very satisfactory. In medicine, a good sensor
is not enough to get an accurate measurement - the environment and context of the
measurements being taken are also important. So I identified three needs, namely:
sensor reliability, the confidentiality of the
medical data, and doing what's necessary to
create a patient-friendly site.

JEC Composites Magazine: As someone with
a medical background, how did you come to
launch the Consult Station adventure?

Dr Franck Baudino: I am a qualified

physician, and have practiced medicine in
France and abroad, in particular in Africa
and India. During my field experience and
involvement in setting up health programs,
I identified two issues that needed addressing: facilitating access to health care for patients, and guaranteeing doctors satisfactory
working conditions. The solutions so far had
not been very satisfactory, so I created some
preliminary projects for telemedicine services. It really was the desire to shift from theory to practice that made me take the plunge.

What needs does Consult Station address
these days?

Dr F. B.: Consult Station consists of web-

based medical consulting services, using
telepresence and telemetering technology

How did the medical sector react to your
product? What specific requirements did you
have to comply with to obtain certification for
Consult Station?

All measurement
readings are
kept strictly
confidential

with

Dr F. B.: The medical environment has
a conservative approach, so the first reactions were very investigative. How could
the Consult Station fit in with a "standard"
care pathway? Fifteen years ago, few people could have anticipated the rise of telemedicine. Attitudes and practices are also
changing.
Being a medical device, our product had
to meet three different requirements:
technological (meeting the strict criteria
for medical practice), regulatory/legal
(guaranteeing that the data gathered is

jec composites magazine / N°120 April 2018

stored on secure national health servers),
and medical (complying with the ethical
standards for practice).
The choice of materials also had to meet
the medical requirements, for example
guaranteeing that the materials used comply with biocontamination control standards.
Our own excellence requirements led us
to go even further by training the doctors
in telemedicine practices ourselves. The
training includes the technical approach
to kiosks, and also defines the ethical
standards for practice. We also provide
continuing medical training for our partner physicians.
How is your market currently structured?

Dr F. B.: We are currently established

mainly in Europe, and are starting to develop in North America. We always have a B to
B approach.
Local communities that have a problem getting medical personnel into their area have a
certain interest in the Consult Station. Local
authorities in France and Europe also have
to adapt to the challenges of ageing populations and the rise of chronic diseases, and
the statistical increase of medical acts associated with that.
For the purposes of organizing specific
healthcare pathways, the large private groups
call on us to integrate Consult Station into
their employee working environment for
regular health monitoring. This is especially
prevalent in businesses where the physical
activity of the employees on duty can lead to

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #120 - April 2018