On February 12, the Special Interest Group (SIG) Neuromuscular Diseases from Rede Universitária de Telemedicina [Telemedicine University Network] (RUTE), lived a historic moment with the first collaboration session on telemedicine between Brazil and India. The meeting was attended by the National Coordinator of RUTE, Luiz Ary Messina, and drew attention to a lecture by Dr. U.K. Misra with the theme: “Neuromuscular disorders in tropical areas: up to date and challenges”. The Indian Professor of Neurology of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences has a worldwide recognized expertise on the subject, having already published more than 400 scientific articles in this area of study. In order for everything to go well during the meeting, there was a hard work of the technical support teams of RUTE in Brazil and the team in India, as well as the SARAH Network, performing all the required tests to guarantee the success of the connection quality.

On the day of the session, 19 Brazilian and 1 Indian institutions were eligible to participate: Hospital Geral de Fortaleza (HGF), Hospital Hans Dieter Schmidt- Joinville-SC, six units of the SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals (Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Luís), Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro – UERJ [University of the State of Rio de Janeiro], the Federal Universities of Alagoas (UFAL), Amazonas (UFAM), Bahia (UFBA), Espírito Santo (UFES), Mato Grosso (UFMT), Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Minas Gerais (UFMG), Pará (UFPA), Pernambuco (UFPE) and Paraíba UFPB), and the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (India).

Following a 45-minute presentation of the theme by Dr. U.K. Misra, 15 minutes of broad discussion followed, which enriched the exchange of experiences among the attendants.

“It was a wonderful experience to join in the first telemedicine conference between India and Brazil, held by SIG Neuromuscular Diseases. The attendants were well informed on the subject and very courteous and encouraging. I look forward to future conferences on common areas of interest”, said Dr. U.K. Misra.

The Telemedicine Stimulator in BRICS and World Health Organization (WHO) Adviser Dr. Saroj Mishra also considered the session a success, citing the overlapping repercussion in the Asian country.

“The quality of the audio and video process was flawless and very well managed on the Brazilian side. All attendants from the India side expressed sincere gratitude for an effective technical performance”, he said.

On the Brazilian side, satisfaction for the excellence achieved in the first collaboration session on telemedicine between countries was also very noticeable. The Coordinator of SIG Neuromuscular Diseases and Professional of the SARAH Network (BH), Dr. Elmano Carvalho, already plans a sequence in the cooperation.

“Important reflection is needed in relation to the event: we developed teaching, we discussed cutting-edge science, we contributed to the clinical practice of colleagues internationally, without frontiers and without attendants having to pay any fees. In an environment free of conflict of interest and kept by the Public Treasury. Personally, I think this is the perfect scenario, the future that came true and exceeded all expectations. That this was the first of many international collaborations in telemedicine Brazil/India”, said Dr. Elmano.