Warrnambool truck driver Darren Ledner spends hours on the road for work delivering milk. So when the weekend comes around, the last thing he feels like is a four-hour round-trip journey to Geelong for medical appointments.
But living with renal failure means regular trips to specialists to have ultrasounds on the veins in his arms is not an option.
"My veins aren't real good and I've had all sorts of trouble," the 50 year-old-says.
However those days could soon be over, thanks to the arrival of robots which can be controlled by doctors working up to 1000 kilometres away from their patients.
Developed by Deakin University, the robot's haptic technology has the sensitivity of human touch and feel - allowing the doctor to apply pressure without hurting the patient and even assess the tenderness of the area being examined.
"Basically the system works as an extension of the doctor's arm," said Deakin University robotics engineer James Mullins. "Whatever the doctor's arm does, the robot's arm does and whatever the robot's arm feels the doctor feels."
Screens and cameras allow the patient and doctor to see each other and communicate in real time.
Dr Mullins said the technology, which relies on an internet connection to link the two sites, would be useful for any scenario where ultrasound was used - be it diagnosing a sports injury, a stomach complaint or a pre-surgery assessment.
"We see this as putting robots in remote, rural Australia and linking them up with radiologists based in cities who can dial into remote or rural areas," Dr Mullins said.
For Mr Ledner it means that the regular ultrasounds he needs to monitor the width of his veins - where the dialysis needle is inserted as part of his kidney failure treatment - could be done from his home town.
"It means I get the latest technology, without having to leave Warrnambool," Mr Ledner said. "It sounds fantastic."
Deakin University's Institute for Intelligent Systems Research developed the technology, which will be trialled by Barwon Health.
"This is the first system to have the full immersive package of the 3D video, the haptics touch technology and the two-way patient-doctor communication," Dr Mullins said.
Institute director Saeid Nahavandi said the technology had already undergone successful trials using Telstra data links between Melbourne and several regional and rural cities in Australia.
He said there were applications for the technology beyond ultrasound diagnostics, such as enabling doctors to safely treat patients with highly infectious diseases and allowing researchers to work with biological and radiological contaminants.
