Surgery streamed across the globe

David Swan
Monday, 07 March 2011 14:32

IT Industry - Development

The Australian medical community has taken another step forward with AARNET, Australia's Academic and Research Network, streaming a series of video demonstrations of gastrointestinal endoscopy techniques from Australia to countries in the Asia-Pacific.

The demonstrations occurred during the 4th annual Westmead Endoscopy Symposium, held on 3rd and 4th March 2011, and were streamed live in high definition to the conference location at the Hilton Hotel Sydney and across the AARNet network to endoscopy specialists throughout Asia Pacific.

AARNet and the University of Sydney collaborated with Australia's leading endoscopy specialists at Sydney's Westmead Hospital, enabling them for the first time to extend the reach of their live demonstrations beyond Australia to their colleagues and other medical professionals in Japan, Korea, China and Thailand over AARNet's national and international high speed broadband network. The transmissions involved the use of multi-way broadcast quality streams rather than internet-based compressed videoconferencing techniques.

Designed to address the latest developments in gastrointestinal endoscopy techniques, two live streams were broadcast during the symposium, with one containing vision of endoscopic outputs and another stream simultaneously providing professional observations on the techniques being demonstrated. The broadcast quality two-way streams of audio and video allowed audiences in all locations to interact with the presenters as the procedures progressed.

The live demonstrations and lectures were designed to explore the latest developments in gastrointestinal endoscopy and share the latest research, findings and insights with the broader medical community. There was a strong focus on endoscopic techniques and discussion around future developments in this area of treatment.

Dr Michael Bourke, Chairman Organising Committee of the Westmead Endoscopy Symposium and an international expert in his field, said, 'These demonstrations are indicative of the collaborative contributions that can be made by Australian practitioners to the international medical research arena. This is a significant step forward in showcasing our expertise and we hope this event typifies the advanced use of high performance networks for remote teaching and collaboration.'

Chris Hancock, CEO of AARNet, said, 'These demonstrations are vital progress in the use of high-capacity broadband links to drive leading-edge initiatives in the e-health arena. We believe that enabling doctors and medical associates from around Australia to share knowledge and collaborate on important medical topics with international colleagues is important to continually advance the study of this important issue.'