By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
No more fights over TV channels and no more complaint over the meal menu in hospital wards. The introduction of personal Internet-TV screens may improve the everyday life of hospital patients.
LG CNS said that it has installed the Internet-protocol TV (IPTV) systems for 150 beds at Kyunghee University Medical Center, northeastern Seoul. The personal TV, similar to that of on-seat flight TV screens on international flights, started its operation on Monday.
The 15-inch screen is attached to each bed using a flexible cradle, and has a built-in set top box on the rear. Patients can select over 60 free cable and terrestrial channels, or watch pay-per-view movies.
Furthermore, from this July, they will be able to select meal menus using the touch-sensitive screen, and order other items delivered to the bed from an online shopping mall, LG CNS said.
``We will install the screens on some 1,000 beds at Kyunghee Medical Center later this year. We also hope to sell the system to other general hospitals,'' said the firm's spokeswoman Lee Na-ri.
LG CNS said the system receives TV signals from local cable operators, and the system is operated from a server room at the hospital. The company refused to reveal the price of the whole system and the individual screen.
LG CNS is a major information technology service, consulting and outsourcing company in Korea. The firm also provided a medical network system for Yonsei University Hospital last year, which is considered one of the most advanced in the world.
indizio@koreatimes.co.kr