Recent advancements in communication technology have allowed society to span great distances, providing instant access to a plethora of information, conversation, and entertainment and in Brookhaven, medical care.

King’s Daughters Medical Center has recently partnered with St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital in an effort to bring specialized diagnosis and treatment into rural areas where such care was previously out of reach.

The state-of-the-art technology used is called the REACH Access Point Cart, a tool employed in the telemedicine field allowing “face-to-face” consultation between specialty physicians, on-site medical professionals and patients.

The cart is equipped with a computer, speakers, microphone, two monitors and a camera with such high resolution that eyelashes could be counted on the patient’s face.

“Technology is continuing to grow in areas such as electronic medical records, bedside charting and wireless systems throughout the hospital,” Terry Singleton, Emergency Room manager at KDMC, said in an interview Wednesday. “It has been an evolving process for quite some time, and this is the latest big step.”

Physicians at KDMC are applying the technology towards stroke prevention and treatment due to the hospital’s lack of specialized neurologists.

The machine, stationed in the ER at KDMC, will virtually project patient information to one of eight specialized neurologists at St. Dominic’s in Jackson.

Readings from a computed tomography, or CT, scan will be wirelessly transmitted to the machine while nurses enter basic demographics on the patient.

The neurologist on-hand will receive the information on his laptop and examine the patient physically through the camera, allowing him to offer a diagnosis and recommend a treatment procedure for doctors at KDMC to proceed with.

“It is very important to us that a patient in a rural community such as Brookhaven have the same access to care as a person in the Metro Jackson area.” Wendy Barrilleaux, stroke coordinator at St. Dominic’s, said Wednesday.

Barrilleaux explained St. Dominic’s has been working with the machine since August 2012. Their “tele-stroke” program was modeled after Ochsner Hospital’s program in New Orleans.

“We wanted to try it in our facility before we used it on others,” she said.

A machine is currently in use at Montfort Jones Memorial Hospital in Kosciusko and one is also in the works for Bolivar Medical Center in Greenville.

“These machines are widely used across the nation, but these are the first, specifically for stroke, in Mississippi,” Barrilleaux said.

Professionals at KDMC are currently training with the technology and are hoping to be fully up and running by the end of the month.

For now, the technology is primarily being used for stroke victims but Barrilleaux estimated the mechanism would be utilized in other areas soon.

“We foresee the use of telemedicine for conditions other than stroke,” she said. “This may include cardiology, pulmonology and psychiatry. The opportunities are endless.”