SAF

Store and Forward. A telemedicine interaction type that creates a multimedia electronic medical record. Data and images are captured and stored for later transmission, consultation or downloading. These static images or audio-video clips may be transmitted to a remote data storage device, from which they may be retrieved by a medical practitioner for review and consultation at any time, obviating the necessity of simultaneous availability of the consulting parties and reducing transmission costs due to low bandwidth requirements.

Satellite

An electronic retransmission instrument serving as a repeater, which is a bi-directional device used to amplify or regenerate signals, placed in orbit around the earth in geostationary orbit for the purpose of receiving and retransmitting electromagnetic signals. It typically receives signals from a single source and retransmits them over a wide geographic area, known as the satellite's 'footprint.

Satellite Connections

A system of communications that uses radio signals sent to and from a satellite orbiting the Earth. The benefits of this mode of communication are that it allows connection between points at a great distance from each other on the Earth's surface, between which direct transmission is difficult, as well as to remote areas that lack cables for.

Search Engine

A Web site that indexes an online resource and makes that index available to other users for searching. This term is typically applied to a site that has indexed Web documents, but search engines also index mailing lists and other online resources. An 'internal' search engine index only includes the documents of that particular Web site, which permits the user to find information on that site more easily and quickly.

Server

A computer designated to providing specific services to other computers. For example, print servers only accept, store, and print out documents sent to them by other computers, and nothing else. Web servers permit users from around the world to access the Web sites and documents stored on them.

Site

An area or location online, typically on the Web, where an organization, individual or business stores its information.

Standards

Agreements on how to implement technologies.

Switch

A mechanical or solid state device that opens or closes circuits, varies operating parameters, or chooses paths or circuits on a space or time division basis.

Switched Line

Communication link for which the physical path, established through dialing, may change with each use.

Switched Network

A system of telecommunications where each user has a separate address and any two points can be linked directly, using any combination of available routes in the network.

Synchronous Transmission

The method by which bits are transmitted at a fixed rate with the transmitter and receiver synchronized, extinguishing the need for start/stop elements, with the result of providing increased efficiency.