For more than 25 years, Italy’s Videoworks has been a go-to company for yacht owners worldwide who want the latest onboard technology. The firm is known for installing audiovisual setups that rival those inside mansions ashore, as well as satellite communications, cybersecurity systems and, most recently, home automation packages that incorporate artificial intelligence. The custom interfaces that Videoworks offers let yacht guests control everything from streaming movies to lights and air conditioning aboard yachts, while the company’s Active Noise Control Systems help keep the din down wherever yacht owners want peace and quiet.
Now, the company is offering Health Remote Monitoring, an area of medicine that’s been around for decades but that really started to accelerate along with the internet’s evolution in the 1990s. During the pandemic the past few years, telemedicine systems got another technological boost, when all kinds of medical experts, including doctors and veterinarians, began offering patient consultations via video calls and online data transfers.
Today, numerous types of telemedicine systems are available, many of them in collaboration with service centers where on-call medical professionals are at the ready for incoming information and requests for help. Videoworks says it’s taking a slightly different approach, though, with more of a focus on patient privacy—what with overall privacy being a key concern aboard most superyachts worldwide.
“What makes this service truly original is the direct connection with the patient’s personal physician, rather than with a service center, as is commonly the case with telemedicine, in which the patient’s data is analyzed by whichever doctor is on duty,” the company said when announcing the service. “This preserves the patient’s privacy and, above all, ensures direct communication with his or her own doctor, who is familiar with the patient’s pathologies and state of health.”
Experts in the telemedicine field say one of the top trends to watch is the increasing use of AI in remote-monitoring systems, for everything from diagnosis and diagnostics to patient follow-up. Expectations also include an increased use of wearables in these systems, with watches and other technology now able to track people’s heart rates, blood pressure and other important vital signs.
All of these system integrations happening aboard a yacht, while still maintaining personal privacy for owners and guests, will require expertise in cybersecurity protocols, satellite communications and more. That’s what makes Videoworks so well positioned to become a major player in the telemedicine marketplace on the world’s oceans.
In September at the Monaco Yacht Show, Videoworks gave showgoers a glimpse of the future, allowing them to test the Health Remote Monitoring system. Visitors to the company’s booth could measure their blood oxygen level and heart rate using a classic pulse oximeter, reproducing what the system does on board a yacht.
