Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1999

sitting face to face with a patient . When we judge a patient's skin colour, for example, we can take the light in the room into consideration. But in teleconsultation, we cannot. We need hard data on the efficacy and effectiveness of teleconsultation, evidence that it is at least as good as face to face consultation. I f it isn't, we need to know its limitations and whether we should continue to use it or not,' he said. The faculty is testing the reliability of teleconsultation using randomized controlled trials . The platform with Shatin Hospital and the home for the aged is also being used to collect data for this purpose. Prof Hjelm attributed the success of telemedicine at CUHK to the combined efforts of various parties: the initiative of faculty dean Prof . Joseph C.K. Lee, encouragement from both the past and current vice-chancellors Profs. Charles Kao and Arthur K.C. Li, the hardwork of many faculty members in the Facult y of Medicine and Faculty of Engineering, and the cooperation an d support from the Hospital Authority and the Prince of Wales Hospital. The University is confident about attracting substantial funding support from the Hospital Authority for implementing telemedicine, as well as grants from other quarters for developing telemedicine with three-dimensiona l video images. A High-powered Anti-Cancer Squad For the first time in Southeast Asia, abnormalities in chromosomal arrangement —phenomena that may be linked to certain cancers — can now be detected at a glance, thanks to a technique which assigns colours to chromosomes. For the first time in the wo r l d, there is the prospect of treatment for cancer patients w i t h inoperable tumours. And people with nasopharyngeal cancer may soon be able to boost their immunity against the tumour with a vaccine. All such techniques originate from Hong Kong's first purpose built cancer centre —Sir Yue-kong Pao Centre for Cancer located at the Prince of Wales Hospital, which was opened jointly with the Lady Pao Children's Cancer Centre in late 1994. Both cancer centres were set up by the Hong Kong Cancer Institute (HKCI), which was founded in 1989 to coordinate different aspects of the University's efforts in the fight against cancer. The Hong Kong Cancer Institute The c e n t r es are housed in a seven-storey building. The first four floors are administered by the Hospital Authority and house facilitie s for cancer screening and t r ea tmen t, ou t pa t i en t c o n s u l t a t i o n , a n d counselling services. The top three floors are administered by the Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 1999 10