Dear Colleagues,

Telemedicine is an important research field that arises from the evolution of electromedical equipment combined with information technology and telecommunication systems, in order to ensure diagnosis, specialist consultation, and remote monitoring, even to patients residing in places far from adequately equipped health centres (e.g., islands, decentralized urban centres, or rural areas, especially in developing countries), often forced to move for unnecessary consultation or even to improper hospitalizations.

The fields of application of telemedicine are various and constantly evolving, from cardiology (transmission of electrocardiographic traces) to radiology (transmission of radiographic images), dermatology (transmission of digital images of skin lesions), pathological anatomy, and many others. Practically every branch of medicine could make use of this tool to improve patient quality of life and healthcare sector management. A mobile phone, for example, is sufficient to transmit data from a portable electrocardiograph to a listening centre and to allow real-time diagnosis at home.

Of course, telemedicine should assure the same safety and efficacy parameters as the traditional health care offered in hospitals and, in general, in the clinical environment.

On the other hand, foetal monitoring is a very important and delicate research field since the foetus is protected in the maternal womb and therefore, until the moment of delivery, accessible only through indirect measures. Furthermore, every mother experiences the need to know the health of their foetus. Hence, the best way to monitor foetal health, with continuity and avoiding false positives, has always been sought.

The field of gynaecology is therefore well-suited to a greater use of telemedicine. The need for this tool arises above all from the high frequency of very long monitoring, especially in the management of pregnancies at risk, with a consequent increase in the number of outpatient checks, as well as prolonged and not always necessary hospitalizations and, last but not least, an increase of cost effectiveness.

Conversely, the development of mobile devices and the increase in wireless networks can allow the provision of medical support when and where patients need it.

Abdominal electrocardiography and cardiotocography are particularly used in prenatal telemedicine, although other methodologies, such as phonocardiography, could be used.

The objective of this Special Issue is to attract ideas regarding the application of telemedicine tools for health monitoring in adults and foetuses. Especially appreciated are original research articles which could contribute to provide guidelines, tools, and techniques that could help spread the knowledge of these methodologies and possibly push hospital structures to obtain supplies in order to facilitate patient monitoring and thus streamline hospital procedures.

Review articles which summarize the state of the art and recent advances in these topics are also welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Proposals of new foetal and adult monitoring methodologies;
• Descriptions of experience already introduced in the hospital environment;
• Clear illustrations of necessary techniques to support telemedicine;
• Reducing the number of pregnant hospitalizations;
• Saving costs for the hospital and at the same time improving quality of life of pregnant people.

Dr. Giovanni Improta
Prof. Dr. Maria Romano
Prof. Dr. Francesco Amato
Dr. Alfonso Maria Ponsiglione
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• telemedicine
• telemedicine cost-effectiveness
• telemedicine and health outcomes
• health monitoring
• foetal health monitoring
• foetal heart rate
• biomedical signal processing and analysis