Health Sciences News Archive

Avian Influenza:Videoconference

On Friday, March 10, 2006, Michèle Boccoz, Director of International Affairs of the Institut Pasteur, discussed the partnership between the Institut Pasteur and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of this collaboration is to strengthen the global capacity to detect influenza viruses that could potentially trigger a human pandemic. The Institut Pasteur is a private, non-profit research foundation dedicated to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and improving worldwide public health.

The presentation was held over Internet2's advanced networks, via the Internet2 Commons, and moderated by Lafayette College biology professor, Robert Kurt, a specialist in immunology. Joining Ms. Boccoz and Dr. Kurt was the Executive Director of the Pasteur Foundation in New York, Caitlin Hawke, who spoke about research funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduates and scientists at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Audiences from Lafayette and Wheaton Colleges followed-up in French and English in an Internet Question and Answer session with the panelists.

This event was sponsored by Lafayette College Departments of Foreign Languages and Literatures and Biology, the Pasteur Foundation, NITLE, and MAGPI. Additional support for the event was provided by Columbia University, NYSERNet, GEANT, and Renater. For additional information, please contact the Pasteur Foundation. more...

DVTS for Telemicroscopy

Pathologists at the University of Pennsylvania Health System have been experimenting with Digital Video Transport System (DVTS) for high-quality video telepathology and telemicroscopy over Internet2 advanced networks. This simple and inexpensive method of transmitting high-quality video and audio enables doctors to perform consultations at remote hospitals where there is no pathologist on site, to offer second-opinion consultations, and to provide education at a distance. In Philadelphia, it is used by pathologists at the three hospitals that comprise the University of Pennsylvania Health System to perform real-time clinical case consultations.

DVTS uses 30 Mbps uncompressed video to provide high-quality images with low latency. DVTS can also be used in multicast mode to allow three or more sites to participate in a single conference. DVTS is one of the principal areas of activity of the Internet2/ResearchChannel Working Group's BigVideo project group, which explores high-quality on-demand and streaming video applications.

Telepathology -- the use of computer-based imaging technology to view diagnostic pathology images over a distance -- has its beginnings in the early 1990s. From the first static-image transfer systems, the technology has evolved to support telemicroscopy, which integrates a remotely-operated robotic microscope and videoconferencing system. These telemicroscopy systems allow a remote pathologist to control a microscope through a computer interface, while discussing the samples with the on-site doctor. In the future, researchers predict that "virtual slide" technology will improve to the point where a database could be built to offer image-guided decision support, a tool that could enhance diagnostic accuracy. A computer would compare a slide with similar specimens in the database, and flag areas that require closer attention from a pathologist.

For more information, see Dr. Michael Feldman's presentation [HTML] [PowerPoint (18MB)] from the Fall 2005 Internet2 Member Meeting. more...

CAMP Med: Identity and Access Management for Academic Medicine Workshop

The Association of American Medical Colleges, Internet2 and NMI-EDIT hosted Advanced CAMP Med: Identity and Access Management for Academic Medicine Workshop, 25-27 January 2006 at the Hilton Houston Plaza/Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Workshop topics included identity management terminology, models, and implementation rationale, and the challenges and opportunities faced by central technology and academic medical center organizations. There were opportunities to learn from industry experts about current initiatives in the middleware space as well as important federal activities that impact academic medical campuses.

Two new features of this year's workshop were:

The University of Texas Health Science Center hosted an exciting hands-on learning experience that permitted attendees to encounter and use an actual university management system in multiple modes to accomplish real-world tasks.
Facilitated small group sessions where participants had the opportunity to work collaboratively to resolve a use case in one of three areas: education, research or clinical. At the end of the workshop, the small groups shared their solutions with the larger group and the attendees came together to discuss several large projects and potential future directions.
more...

RSNA Annual Meeting

Radiologists, healthcare administrators, technologists, scientists, and imaging and information system vendors from all over the world, attended the 91^st Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meeting November 27 to December 2, 2005 in Chicago. RSNA supports the exchange of scientific progress in radiology, radiologic education, and in the integration of information and communication systems in radiology practice. The Annual Meeting provides workshops, training, and conference sessions for health professionals. Internet2 worked with the National Library of Medicine to offer the tutorial "Advanced Networks and Applications in Healthcare" at RSNA.

The tutorial offered background information about advanced networks and their relevance to healthcare, especially in relation to the transmission and use of images. Attendees learned about the advantages of high performance networks for the delivery of healthcare, as well as research issues and government initiatives that have implications for the health sciences. Additionally, Internet2 members presented and demonstrated two research projects, "High-Performance Networks in Support of Radiological Education and Communication" and "Distributed Collaborative Volume Visualization Using Access Grid." The first demonstration showed a range of applications that allow radiologists and surgeons to jointly view 3D data sets and collaborate on the segmentation of data sets using an immersive stereoscopic interface. The second demonstrated an Advanced Biomedical Collaboration (ABC) application that uses Access Grid and 3D immersive technology over Internet2 networks. At the conclusion of each tutorial, participants had “hands on” experiences using the technologies. more...

Biomedical Informatics Research Network

Apps The Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) promotes advances in biomedical and health care research through the development and support of a cyberinfrastructure that enables data sharing and multi-institutional collaboration. Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, BIRN facilitates sharing, analysis, visualization, and data comparisons across geographically distributed virtual communities. The growing BIRN consortium currently includes more than forty research groups from more than twenty-five universities and hospitals interconnected by Internet2's Abilene Network, which provides the backbone for all of BIRN's distributed data and computational resources.

BIRN collaborators participate in one of three initial testbed projects or associated collaborative projects, all of which require advanced networking capabilities. BIRN's initial testbed projects center on structural and functional brain imaging of neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease, depression, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit disorder, brain cancer, and Parkinson's disease. The advanced applications that process the massive quantities of images generated by these brain imaging studies require the high-performance Abilene Network. BIRN's initial testbed studies are driving the construction and daily use of a federated data-sharing environment that aggregates and presents data held at geographically-separate sites as a single virtual data resource. The BIRN program is rapidly producing tools and technologies to enable the aggregation of data from any laboratory's research program to the BIRN data federation system. Lessons learned and best practices are continuously collected and made available to help new collaborative efforts make use of this infrastructure.

The BIRN infrastructure is also used by the National Alliance for Medical Imaging Computing, a multi-institutional team of computer scientists, software engineers, and medical investigators developing computational tools for the analysis and visualization of medical image data. In addition, BIRN researchers use advanced networks and applications to work with collaborators in the United Kingdom. more...

Camp Med: Identity and Access Management for Medical Applications

A key component of security is well-managed access to and protection of online resources and user privacy while enhancing ease of use. Managing user identity and related information not only reduces the staff required to manage appropriate access but also allows better service by facilitating the provisioning of services and the flexible auditing of information access requests. The NMI-EDIT Consortium—together with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)—held CAMP Med: Identity and Access Management for Medical Applications Workshop, which took place 9-11 February 2005 in Tempe, AZ. This workshop brought together over 70 registrants from both central campus IT organizations and academic medical centers, who convened to discuss identity and access management issues for academic medical centers and areas of mutual interest. Topics presented at the workshop included background on the middleware work currently underway in NMI-EDIT and the Internet2 Middleware Initiative, as well as related challenges in the medical space, including HIPAA and research support. Specific discussion sessions allowed attendees to explore common requirements, needs, and deployment issues. Workshop proceedings are now available online on the EDUCAUSE web site. more...

Digital Anatomy BOF

The Visible Human and Digital Anatomy areas now have a large number of imaging and learning resources at various states of development and deployment. At the same time, anatomy teaching faculty at all medicals schools are experiencing cutbacks in teaching hours and staff. A new Internet2 Digital Anatomy BOF ("Birds of a Feather" group) is forming to explore the creation of an anatomy teaching resource accessible over Internet2. This will be a cross-cutting initiative with broad applicability and requiring the involvement of a diverse collection of communities. It will seize an opportunity created by a convergence of needs and technical capabilities, and will require the unique capabilities of the Internet2 community. The immediate result of the project will be the identification of technologies and standards needed to support a sophisticated collection of tools for teaching anatomy. Parvati Dev of Stanford University and Steven Senger of University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse convened a session during the Fall 2004 Internet2 Member Meeting to discuss the potential for a Digital Anatomy BOF within the Internet2 community and have now drafted a proposal entitled The Visible Human and Digital Anatomy Learning Initiative to officially launch the BOF. more...

Emerging Trends in Medical Simulation Presented at MMVR

Training professionals for real-world application of knowledge and skills is a major challenge; simulations can be used in training to enhance understanding, improve performance, and assess competence. Dale Alverson, one of the co-principal investigators for Project Touch (Telehealth Outreach for Unified Community Health) explains, "Each year more than 46,000 people die as a result of medical errors. Medical simulation improves patient safety by offering new ways to 'train and maintain' skills." Alverson will be among the presenters at the Emerging Trends in Medical Simulation workshop, taking place in conjunction with the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality conference (26-29 January 2005 in Long Beach, CA). The workshop will describe how tools such as fully immersive, interactive virtual reality (VR) simulations—presented using advanced technologies, such as multiple Access Grid nodes connected across Internet2 and other advanced networks—allow dissemination of these simulations and enable collaborative learning independent of distance. This cutting-edge research integrates computing, advanced networking, and human-computer interfaces to provide new approaches to how people learn by creating interactive experiential training environments. In terms of learning outcomes, students who participate collaboratively in problem solving and managing of a simulated patient find that opportunities to make mistakes and repeat actions using the VR interface are extremely helpful in learning specific principles. They also feel more engaged with the "patient" than in standard text-based scenarios. Alverson concludes, "VR simulations create a safe environment to make mistakes and endless opportunities to repeat and practice, as well as provide a platform for training refreshment."

This project was supported partially by grant 2 D1B TM 00003-02 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Health Resources and Services Administration. more...

Internet2/NLM infoRAD Demos and Tutorials at RSNA 2004

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting provides workshops, training, and conference sessions for health professionals. The 2004 meeting took place in Chicago on 28 November to 3 December. In addition, nearly 500,000 square feet of exhibit space – featured product demonstrations and a broad range of exhibits. For the third consecutive year, the Internet2/NLM tutorials and demos were part of the infoRAD exhibit space. The infoRAD area is designed to showcase the most innovative technology solutions in an interactive, educational environment. Hands-on demonstrations are encouraged. Computer-aided instruction, digital imaging and communications in medicine, new technologies, computer-assisted diagnosis, and literature searches are just some of the topics featured in infoRAD exhibits.

These jointly-conducted NLM and Internet2 tutorials on Next Generation Internet (NGI) and Internet2 high-performance networking applications provided RSNA attendees information about these advanced networks and their relevance to healthcare. NGI, Internet2 and were compared and contrasted with the regular, commodity Internet. The advantages of high performance networks for the delivery of healthcare was explained and demonstrations of research and development projects using these networks were presented. Research issues and government initiatives of interest to NGI and Internet2 communities having implications for the health sciences and were also highlighted. more..

BIRN Demos Brain Morphometry Testbed

The Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN), is an National Institutes of Health information technology initiative that fosters distributed collaborations in biomedical science. Currently, this growing consortium includes multiple research sites from 14 universities and hospitals interconnected via Internet2's Abilene Network. BIRN participants are engaging in three testbed projects centered on neuroimaging studies of human neuropsychiatric illness and associated animal models. The Brain Morphometry BIRN testbed focuses on correlating structural brain differences to neuropsychiatric disorders, starting with studies of Alzheimer's Disease and depression. As part of the NLM/Internet2 Tutorials at RSNA2004, BIRN collaborators will demonstrate three focused applications that highlight the use of high-performance network infrastructure to advance science within the Morphometry BIRN:

1) The Alzheimer's Project demonstrates how the BIRN infrastructure can be used for mining multi-site clinical MRI studies with a preliminary study of Alzheimer's disease, while integrating legacy data from several clinical research studies.

2) The Multi-site Imaging Research in the Analysis of Depression (MIRIAD) project integrates advanced brain morphometry tools from multiple sites to analyze MRI structural data from one site and measure volume changes in cortical and subcortical gray matter, that correlate with various clinical measures in depression and age-matched controls.

3) The Semi-Automated Shape Analysis project (SASHA) is developing a seamless and robust processing pipeline among multiple institutional sites that segments sub cortical structures from structural MRI data, computes the geodesics in the space of infinite dimensional diffeomorphisms, visualizes results and enables statistical analyses of the results. Image courtesy of BIRN. more...

Virtual Surgery Master Class

In countries like Australia, where the population is small and unevenly distributed, access to specialized surgical expertise for training can be difficult. Surgical residents commonly travel long distances to attend training, at significant expense and disruption to their professional and personal lives. At the SimTecT 2004 conference, held recently in Canberra, Australia, collaborators at Stanford University and CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization) demonstrated how advanced networking can enable a surgical instructor to provide live instruction remotely. Both student, instructor, and observers could watch the interactions between the instructor and student—and also see the virtual tools, objects and interaction interfaces used as part of the teaching—in the style of an audience watching a performing arts master-class. A collection of video clips from the SimTecT demo is available for online viewing.

Stanford and CSIRO are preparing a similar Virtual Surgery Master Class demonstration for the Fall 2004 Internet2 Member Meeting, taking place in Austin, TX on 27-30 September. In that demo, the surgical instructor will lead the student, who is immersed in a 3D view of the abdominal organs, through the live simulated surgical procedure. The system will continuously transmit incremental changes in the 3D model (anatomy, instruments, pointers, and annotation) between Canberra and Austin keeping all components, including the haptically-enabled instruments, synchronized with each other. Both participants can simultaneously "grasp" pliable body organs, cut tissue, and at the same time feel the actions and forces provided by each other across the Pacific. Each site can independently zoom or pan the viewpoint, and also lock the views together to jointly study the scene. Instruction will be supplemented by real-time 3D annotation in the virtual scene and a virtual white board is available for drawing diagrams. A virtual video player, allows the participants to remain immersed in the virtual environment while they view a pre-recorded video of real surgery. Each participant can pause the video and draw on the virtual screen while discussing the operation. The virtual video players at each end of the network connection are synchronized so that each participant sees the same video frames. more...

Medical Simulators and Internet2

The Center for Excellence in Remote and Medically Underserved Areas (CERMUSA) at Saint Francis University (SFU) has been working with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and the MAGPI gigaPoP to develop advanced methods of medical education using Internet2. These collaborators are making costly medical simulation models housed at USUHS, located in Bethesda, MD, available over Internet2 advanced networks to students in the Physician Assistant program at SFU, located in rural Loretto, PA. Advanced connectivity in rural and hard to reach locations such as Loretto can be a challenge for institutions that are looking to take advantage of Internet2. In partnership with the University of Pennsylvania and the MAGPI gigaPoP, a sustainable cost-effective solution was found enabling CERMUSA to obtain a 45 Mbps connection to the Abilene Network through MAGPI. Colleagues at the National Library of Medicine, along with the technical staff at CERMUSA, were helpful in finding innovative solutions for many of the security issues the group confronted during transmission.

The most recent simulation performed by these collaborators involved SFU students in a classroom with four plasma monitors, each displaying high quality video of the emergency room simulator located at USUHS. Two monitors showed an overall view of the emergency room and two displayed the vital signs monitor for the simulated patient, transmitted using Digital Video Transport System (DVTS). Students watched the live video feeds, made assessments about the "patient," and communicated those assessments in real-time to the doctor at USUHS, who then performed the procedures on the patient simulator. According to Robert E. Griffin Assistant Director of Distance Learning at CERMUSA, "Simulation is a tool that must be used in medical education. Internet2 advanced networks can potentially extend access to simulators, instructors, and other learning resources, to students anywhere, changing the traditional model of the medical education classroom." This project is partially funded by the Office of Naval Research. more...

CIC Nursing Informatics Course

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a consortium of 12 research universities, piloted a course in nursing informatics for four participating institutions: University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, and University of Michigan. This innovative course used the Internet2 Commons H.323 Videoconferencing Service to deliver live, interactive lectures to students. The course was supplemented by an on-demand video archive and combined web-based conferencing, web-based course management, and traditional teaching/learning strategies to support the acquisition of knowledge and skills essential for nursing informatics researchers. The four participating universities shared the hosting of the web-based class sessions and used CIC's CourseShare administrative system, a system that allows students at CIC member institutions to register and pay tuition, receive grades and credit for specialized inter-institutional courses all at their home campuses. Connie Delaney, professor at the College of Nursing at the University of Iowa, stressed, "This collaboration provides creative strategies that leverage the scarcity of nursing informatics faculty and at the same time offer students participation in a wealth of research projects and innovations across multiple institutions." more...

Future Directions for Telemedicine

The Telemedicine Resource Center of the University of Michigan Health System held a symposium on Future Directions for Telemedicine: An International Symposium on Program Evaluation, Strategies and Techniques, Emerging Technologies, and Interoperability. The symposium, which was co-sponsored by Internet2, took place in Ann Arbor, MI on 20-22 May 2004. The topics addressed during the Symposium included:

Results of telemedicine evaluation studies
Economic analysis of telemedicine applications in various health care settings
Research findings pertaining to clinical outcomes of telemedicine
Descriptions of emerging technologies, including wireless and broad band systems, for telemedicine
Architecture for interoperability to support telemedicine services

Mary Sue Coleman, University of Michigan President and Internet2 Board Member, presented opening remarks. Mary Kratz, Internet2 Program Manager for Health Science Initiatives, participated in a panel entitled "Interoperable Architectures to Support Telemedicine Nationally and Internationally." Michael Ackerman, Chief of the Office of High Performance Computing and Communications at the National Library of Medicine, participated in the "Emerging Technologies for Telemedicine and Clinical Decision Support" panel. more...

Internet2 Presentations at FDA Science Forum 2004

The tenth annual FDA Science Forum was held on 18-19 May 2004 in Washington, DC. During the Science Forum, FDA scientists from all disciplines gather together with representatives from academia, government agencies, consumer and patient advocacy groups, Congress, international constituents, and a variety of medical industry stakeholders. On 19 May 2004, Kathleen Morrish, IT Director for Scientific Computing at the FDA, moderated a panel discussion that included Mary Kratz, Internet2 Program Manager for Health Science initiatives, Michael Gill, National Library of Medicine and Jesus Salillas, Prous Science. In addition, Internet2 and Prous Science each participated in the FDA Science Forum Exhibition. Through Internet2 affiliate membership, the FDA is able to engage with the Internet2 community and provide high-performance network connectivity to its many research laboratories. more...

Adventures in Neurogenetics

Dr. Seymour Benzer, whose five-decade career includes major contributions in physics, biology, and neuroscience, delivered a lecture "Adventures in Neurogenetics" on 27 April 2004 at the Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. The lecture was netcast live over the Internet and will be archived for later viewing.
Over a span of five decades Seymour Benzer, the James Griffin Boswell Professor of Neuroscience Emeritus (Active) at the California Institute of Technology, has made seminal contributions in three areas of science- physics, biology, and neuroscience. At age 81, he leads an active and innovative research group, and continues to expand our understanding of neurogenetics. This lecture is presented by the Franklin Institute and the Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences as part of the latter's 50th anniversary program, and is sponsored in part by generous support from Cephalon, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., and Wyeth Neuroscience. Dr. Benzer is the 2004 recipient of the Franklin Institute's Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science for his pioneering work in neurogenetics. more...

Missouri Life Sciences Week 2004

Missouri Life Sciences Week 2004, held 5-9 April 2004, focused on life sciences and biotechnology with the goal of promoting communication and collaboration throughout Missouri's scientific community and beyond. The program featured a dynamic series of distinguished seminar speakers, workshops, and forums. Sessions were broadcast in a live, interactive format via Internet2 advanced networks to central venues in Columbia, St. Louis and Kansas City, and video of several events was streamed worldwide over the Internet, including a seminar by Dr. Peter Agre, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Dr. Agre, who is a Professor of Biological Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, presented on "Aquaporin Water Channels: From Atomic Structure to Clinical Medicine." A two-day live poster session and vendor show was held at University of Missouri-Columbia during Life Sciences Week 2004. A key feature of the 2003 Missouri Life Sciences Week was a virtual poster session that lead to the creation of a statewide online resource called the Missouri Life Sciences Research Database, now maintained as an active website that solicits submissions year-round. Gary Allen, Executive Director of the University of Missouri Bioinformatics Consortium and Chair of the Internet2 Veterinary Medicine Special Interest Group, was one of the co-organizers for this event. Missouri Life Sciences week was presented by the University of Missouri-Columbia Molecular Biology Program and University of Missouri Bioinformatics Consortium, in partnership with the the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Midwest Research Institute/Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute in Kansas City, and Internet2. more...

Improving Education and Healthcare through Information Technology

Improving Education and Healthcare through Information Technology was held 30-31 March 2004 and focused on how information technology can be used to deliver health services—and raise awareness of health issues—in the U.S. and the developing world. Presenters included world leaders, leading educators, and health professionals. The conference format included lectures, panels, and technical demonstrations. The keynote address was presented by Mr. F.W. de Klerk, former President of South Africa and co-winner of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize (along with Nelson Mandela) for his role in ending apartheid in South Africa. A message from President Nelson Mandela (who will be in South Africa) was presented as well. Mr. de Klerk discussed why education and health are essential building blocks for peace and reconciliation in a global context. Also on the agenda during the symposium was Dr. Jack Buchanan, who presented on "Internet2 and other high performance computing applications to health care and bioinformatics." Buchanan is Chair of the Department of Health Informatics and Clinical Engineering at University of Tennessee, Chair of the Internet2 Medical Middleware Working Group, and member of the Internet2 Health Sciences Advisory Group. more...

Brain Research: From Molecules to Mind

A 50th anniversary symposium of the University of Pennsylvania Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences was held on 15 March 2004. The topics presented at this major symposium spanned the entire range of modern neuroscience, from studies of molecules in model organisms through the analysis of behavior in humans. Nobel laureate and Penn Trustee Stanley Prusiner presented the keynote address. Guest speakers included Huda Akil of the University of Michigan, Eve Marder of Brandeis University, Michael Posner of the University of Oregon, Larry Squire of UC San Diego, and Richard Tsien of Stanford University. If you missed the live webcast, the broadcast is archived for viewing on demand. more...

NLM/Internet2 Tutorials and Demos at RSNA 2003

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), Internet2, and the Metropolitan Research and Education Network (MREN) are collaborating to present a series of tutorials and demonstrations of advanced networking technology and its future application in the healthcare arena. The tutorials and demos, taking place at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, will provide attendees with interactive access to these advanced technologies, while highlighting their relevance to the practice of medicine.

Advanced Biomedical Collaboration, developed at University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, is a technical framework based on the Access Grid, a suite of high-end video/audio technologies that bring together collaborators at multiple sites. This demo shows how Access Grid technologies can be extended to devices such as stereo or head-mounted displays, PDAs, and laptops.

Immersive 3D Visualization and Collaboration for Anatomical Education, developed at Stanford University and University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, uses 3D visualization and segmentation applications enabling users at remote sites to collaboratively visualize and control anatomical structures in an immersive environment. Haptic feedback enables users to “touch” and “feel” the data in virtual space.

Remote Treatment Planning for Radiation Therapy, and developed at Johns Hopkins University, utilizes commercially available software and low-cost PCs enabling multiple medical professionals to collaborate over high-speed networks in developing treatment plans for radiation therapy.

Real-time Complex Volumetric Medical Imaging, developed at University of Kentucky, is an application that generates 3D images from actual CT scans, providing views of anatomical structures that are not possible with other imaging modalities or even by live cadaver dissection.

“High-speed networks offer some very important benefits for health care and NLM is pleased to have sponsored much of the advanced research in this area, including many of the projects that will be demonstrated in these tutorials” says Dr. Michael Ackerman, Director of the NLM Office of High Performance Computing and Communications. “Patients often can receive more accurate diagnoses in a more convenient and timely manner because the high-speed Internet allows patient data to be quickly shared with the proper consulting specialists located anywhere in the world.” more...

RSNA Image Interpretation Session

The image interpretation session at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), taking place in Chicago from 29 November to 5 December, features a team of distinguished panelists who identify abnormal findings on imaging studies and make recommendations for further procedures or treatment. Physicians, who attend this event, discuss the cases presented by the internationally renowned panelists and receive Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for their participation. Because RSNA is held at McCormick Place in Chicago, which is connected to the national Abilene network through the Metropolitan Research and Education Network (MREN), this session will be multicast live for the first time ever, allowing this important educational opportunity to reach physicians worldwide. Global connectivity is made possible through the StarLight international network exchange point on Northwestern University's Chicago campus.

Click the image on the right to search an HD version of the image session using Prous Science's MAVS indexing tool.

Dr. Greg Mogel, University of Southern California, stated, “Knowing the great history, interest, and relevance of the RSNA image interpretation session, I was overjoyed to hear that advanced Internet technology would be playing a role this year. RSNA does an outstanding job of emphasizing the importance of information technology in the practice of radiology. This session holds great potential to express the relevance of these technologies to the practical application of day-to-day imaging, with radiologists leading the way in seeing them come to fruition.”

The multicast production of the image interpretation session was conceptualized and organized by RSNA, Northwestern's Department of Radiology and International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR), Prous Science, Video Furnace, and MREN; these organizations also provided specialized network and multicast support for this event. According to Joe Mambretti, Director of iCAIR and MREN, "This exceptional event demonstrates how communications can be enhanced through cooperative, inter-organizational partnerships and advanced technology."

Health Education for the 21st Century

The Ruth Lilly Health Education Center (RLHEC) is a not–for–profit organization that provides multimedia health education and wellness programs for learners of all ages and hosts over 80,000 on-site visitors at its facility each year. In 2002, a $3,000,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment was awarded to the RLHEC, the Indiana University School of Informatics and the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) for the “Health Education for the 21st Century” project. The goal of this collaboration is to improve the effectiveness and delivery of health education through the integration of digital technology and informatics. Over a three-year period, more than 30 of the educational programs offered at the center will be upgraded to utilize the latest in digital technology through the combined expertise of the IUPUI-RLHEC team. A significant component of the project will be the implementation of high-speed network connectivity that will facilitate the development and delivery of innovative health education applications, provide for advanced Internet videoconferencing and communication, and contribute to the ongoing national and international dialogue about K-12 health education. This will allow the center to extend access to its programs to thousands of virtual visitors worldwide through outreach and web-based instruction. Darrell L. Bailey, executive associate dean for the IU School of Informatics and the principal investigator of the grant comments, “The Ruth Lilly Health Education Center is a wonderful organization committed to an absolutely essential goal. With the support and generosity of the Lilly Endowment, this grant will combine the intellectual power of the School of Informatics, the health education expertise of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and the teaching excellence of the center’s staff. This unique collaboration will transform the health education landscape in terms of both content and delivery for learners of all ages.”

The Ruth Lilly Health Education Center and IU School of Informatics recently hosted attendees from the Fall 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting for an evening of exhibits, demonstrations, and presentations at the center—providing Internet2 members with a first hand look at Health Education for the 21st Century and the potential for advanced networks to revolutionize the delivery of health education to a global community.

Digital EMS and DREAMS Showcase

Digital EMS (DEMS) integrates several leading-edge technologies to link emergency medical technicians in ambulances with trauma specialists in distant hospitals. The DEMS ambulance is equipped with state-of-the-art medical monitoring and wireless communications technology that provide high quality data and video to the trauma specialist at the center. This capability is especially important in rural parts of the United States, where resources are limited, but also has applications for military operations. DEMS is part of the Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services (DREAMS™) project, a multi-million-dollar undertaking aimed at improving emergency medical care.

James H. "Red" Duke, M.D, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, is the PI for the DREAMS project.

Funded by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, DREAMS™ uses technology such as global positioning system navigation and real-time, high-bandwidth transmission of physiological, audio, and video data to provide emergency medical professionals access to a “virtual physician” to assist in the first response to an injury, heart attack, stroke, or other trauma. By providing mentoring and specialized expertise to emergency personnel in remote areas patient treatment can begin during the so-called “golden hour” immediately following a trauma—when the chances of recovery for patients are the greatest—rather than having treatment begin upon arrival at a medical center. Partners in the DREAMS™ project are the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and Texas Engineering Experiment Station, a member of the Texas A&M University System. DREAMS Poster Presentation.

International Conference on Health and Science Communications
June 18-21
Bethlehem, PA

The Health Sciences Communications Association (HeSCA) is an association of communications professionals committed to sharing knowledge and resources in the health sciences arena. "Shaping the Future of Science and Medical Communications" is the theme for the HESCA International Conference this year. In conjunction with the conference, George Motter from Lehigh University will present a full-day, hands-on workshop with live demos showing Internet2 applications in the health sciences arena. Workshop participants include Michael Ackerman, Director of the Office of High Performance Computing and Communications, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health; Ed Johansen, member of the Internet2 Health Sciences Advisory Group and facilitator of the Internet2 Orthopaedic Surgery Working Group; Parvati Dev, Associate Dean of Learning Technologies and Director of Stanford University's SUMMIT Labs, and Jennifer MacDougall, Application Coordinator for MAGPI, the Mid-Atlantic Internet2 gigaPoP.

For more information refer to http://hesca.org/bethlehem/workshops.shtm
and scroll down to "Internet2 in Health and Science."

Scientific Imaging and Computing Institute

The Scientific Imaging and Computing Institute (SCI Institute) at the University of Utah integrates three major facets of scientific computing visualization simulation and geometric modeling—into computational problem solving environments. SCI Institute researchers and technologists have contributed to solving computational problems in fields including combustion, fluid dynamics, petrochemical reservoir simulation, cardiology, neurosurgery, radiology, nuclear fusion, and the atmospheric diffusion of pollutants. One of the key missions of the SCI Institute is to provide integrated solutions and problem solving environments to help scientists in different disciplines solve their own computational problems.

According to SCI Institute Director Christopher Johnson (photograph on right), “Internet2 high-performance networks provide a direct data channel to our collaborators throughout the country. From researching Grid applications to leveraging the interactive videoconferencing capabilities of the Access Grid, Internet2 provides the networking we need to pursue collaborative Grid-based research.” SCI Institute researchers are using networking protocols such as multicast and IPv6 to accomplish their research while incorporating new and innovative networking solutions in a range of engineering and scientific application areas.

The SCI Institute also houses two national research centers: the NIH NCRR Center for Bioelectrical Field Modeling, Simulation and Visualization and the DOE Advanced Visualization Technology Center (AVTC). Additionally, the SCI Institute houses the NIH-BISTI Program of Excellence in Computational Bioimaging and Visualization: Tools For Image Processing and Fusion, Interactive Visualization, and Inverse Problems.

9th Annual FDA Science Forum

FDA Science: Protecting America's Health
24-25 April 2003, Washington, D.C.
more...

At the request of the FDA, Internet2 hosted a special working lunch session at the annual FDA Science Forum, on 25 April 2003. Mary Kratz (Program Manager of Health Sciences Initiative, Internet2) will open the session. Mike Ackerman (Director: Office of High Performance Computing and Communications, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health), and other special guest speakers will present at the lunch session.

The Internet2 special working lunch session will be held on Level 2-Room 202A of the Convention Center. Three other special working lunch sessions will be held concurrently on the same level. For details, please visit www.dcscienceforum.org.

Internet2 will also have a booth on the Exhibition floor. Come visit us!

American Telemedicine Association Annual Meeting

27-30 April 2003, Orlando, FL more...

Spring 2003 Member Meeting
9-11 April 2003, Arlington, VA
Crystal Gateway Mariott Hotel

The program included 44 track sessions, 25 working group meetings, updates from the International Task Force, and over 17 BOFs and tutorials. A new Video track reflected the critical work going on in this area, and complemented the standard tracks of Advanced Applications, Middleware, Network Planning and Engineering, and Relationships and Partnerships.

Peter A. Freeman, Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), opened the meeting in Wednesday’s plenary session with a presentation of his perspectives on the research programs that NSF is encouraging to meet the challenges for advanced networking. The closing plenary on Friday featured David B. Nelson, who is the director of the National Coordination Office (NCO) for Information Technology Research and Development and a member of the Senior Executive Service. Nelson described the federal government’s activities in optical networks, middleware, and grid computing, and focused on the recently established High Computing Revitalization Task Force, which will develop an interagency R&D roadmap for high-end computing core technologies to guide future federal investments in this area.

>Online evaluation form
>Meeting Program

Chennai, India Arthroscopy Videoconference
on 4 April 2003

Stanford University hosted a videoconference with the arthroscopy conference in Chennai, India. The videoconference was available via real time webcast and also as video-on-demand (VOD) at the URLs below.

VOD:
http://lanevid.stanford.edu:2020/ramgen/special/summit-04-04-2003.smi

University of New Mexico Internet2 Day

The University of New Mexico (UNM) hosted an Internet2 Day on 28 March 2003. The agenda for this event included presentations by Mary Kratz, Internet2 Program Manager for Health Sciences Initiatives, and Ana Preston, Internet2 Program Manager for International Relations. Ann Doyle, Internet2 Program Manager for Arts and Humanities, participated via videoconferencing from Miami and hosted a live master class between a violin fellow at the New World Symphony in Florida who received instruction from Prof. Felicia Moye at the University of Oklahoma School of Music. Following the live demonstration, the UNM audience were able to pose questions to the Florida and Oklahoma participants. The Attendees for the UNM Internet2 Day included Bill Richardson, the Governor of New Mexico.

Dr. Dale C. Alverson, Medical Director at the UNM Center for Telehealth, will gave a presentation on Project TOUCH (Telehealth Outreach for Unified Community Health). Alverson is co-PI of Project TOUCH, which just received an additional $1 million to continue a fourth year of research and development through a continuing federal grant under the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) within Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Project TOUCH, a multi-year collaboration between the Schools of Medicine at the Universities of Hawaii and of New Mexico, was developed to integrate advanced technologies into education and training. Project Touch employs medical case scenarios as virtual models to make learning of critical concepts relevant and translatable to real-life application and deploys and distributes these methods to remote training sites using the Access Grid and Internet2 high-performance networks.

Dr. Timothy L. Thomas, a Research Scientist with the New Mexico Center for Particle Physics, made a presentation on "Internet2 and The Grid: The Future of Computing for Big Science at UNM."

The University of New Mexico Internet2 Day was netcast using IP/TV and can be viewed by campuses that are multicast enabled.

> UNM Internet2 Day
> Agenda

University of Maryland, Baltimore Internet2 Day
10 March 2003

Mary Kratz, Program Manager of Health Sciences Initiative, Internet2 presented introduction to Internet2 and Internet Health Sciences. Michael Ackerman, Assistant Director for High Performance Computing & Communications at the National Library of Medicine and a member of Health Sciences Advisory Group, Internet2 presented "Next Generation Networking: Healthcare in the Fast Lane" to open the demonstration session. The session focused on the National Digital Mammography Archive On the Next Generation Internet.

> UMB Internet2 Day
> Presentations
> Demonstrations

Missouri Life Sciences Week
3-7 March 2003

Missouri Life Sciences Week focused on life sciences and biotechnology with the goal of promoting communication and collaboration throughout Missouri's scientific community and beyond. Doug Van Houweling, Internet2 President and CEO, provided introductory remarks at the opening session. Life Sciences Week presentations took place in three different locations in Missouri, with Internet2 providing interactive videoconferencing between the three sites. In addition, Internet2 was also netcasting several sessions for general viewing, including the March 7 panel discussion "Science Education for the 21st Century," which was presented as part of the Internet2 Virtual Briefing series. Life Sciences Week also featured a virtual poster session for online viewing, in addition to the live poster session at the MU campus. Gary Allen, Executive Director of the University of Missouri Bioinformatics Consortium and Chair of the Internet2 Veterinary Medicine Special Interest Group, was one of the co-organizers for this event.

Missouri Life Sciences week was presented by the University of Missouri-Columbia Molecular Biology Program and University of Missouri Bioinformatics Consortium, in partnership with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and the Danforth Plant Science Center.

Orthopaedic Surgery Research Network Expands

Following the launch of the California Orthopaedic Research Network (CORN) on 29 October 2002, there has been growing interest and increasing engagement in the uses of high-performance networking throughout the telemedicine, telerobotics, and other medical research communities. Chadwick F. Smith, Internet2 chair of the Orthopaedic Surgery Working Group announced the expansion of CORN at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in New Orleans on February 5.

The expanded network, Western Orthopaedic Research Network (West ORN), now includes California plus 13 additional western states, Canada, and Mexico. Further expansion to include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay will follow in the coming months.

Internet2 Orthopaedic Surgery Working Group

A new Internet2 Orthopaedic Surgery Working Group has been formed and is chaired by Dr. Chadwick F. Smith. Smith is Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at USC and President-Elect of SICOT (the International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology). Membership in this working group is open to all individuals who are affiliated with an Internet2 member institution and who have an interest in Internet2 applications to Orthopaedic surgery. Please contact Chadwick F. Smith at chadwics@usc.edu if you would like to join this working group.

National Health Information Infrastructure

Doug Van Houweling, Internet2 President and CEO, testified to the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) at the Hearings on National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) in Washington, D.C. on 27 January 2003. The two-day event included six panel sessions on topics ranging from the Internet technology to personal health information and authentication issues. The NCVHS-NHII Workgroup hosted the event.

Van Houweling presented at the first session, titled "The Current and Future Internet," with Vint Cerf of WorldCom and Aubrey Bush of the National Science Foundation. He promoted a vision for the role of the advanced Internet in health care and made clear Internet2's role in supporting health care research.

This hearing was broadcast live over the Internet, with the help of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Recordings of broadcasts from the past six months are available from the VA Virtual Conference Archive at http://www.va.gov/virtconf.htm.

>The presentation slideshow
>NCVHS home page

SURA BioGrid Workshop

28-30 January 2003
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

The opportunities promised by genomic science portend a major advance in our understanding of biological systems as well as in our ability to use that knowledge to benefit mankind. However, the biological challenges of the post-genomic era are matched by daunting computing and information science developments. Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) members are working within their states to support the genomics revolution through creating Grids or computing facilities. Learn about statewide efforts within the SURA region, NIH and NSF funding opportunities and related
developments.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. John Wooley, Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Research, UCSD

Dr. Wooley created the first programs within the US federal government for funding research in bioinformatics and in computational biology and has been involved in strengthening the interface between computing and biology for more than two decades while working at the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and now the University of California, San Diego.

There is no registration fee for this event but attendance is limited.
>Workshop infromation
>SURA home page

RSNA 2002

Joint Internet2/NLM Tutorials and Demos at RSNA Internet2, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and the Metropolitan Research and Education Network (MREN) are collaborating to present a series of tutorials and demos on “Next Generation Internet, Internet2, and the Future of Medical Practice and Education” at RSNA 2002 (Radiological Society of North America), taking place in Chicago 1-6 December 2002. The tutorials and demos are part of the infoRAD exhibit, which is designed to showcase the most innovative technology solutions in an interactive, educational environment for over 60,000 RSNA attendees.
>Demos at RSNA 2002

California Orthopaedic Research Network Launched

The launch of the California Orthopaedic Research Network (CORN) took place at the Internet2 Fall 2002 Member Meeting. CORN will enable surgeons to participate in remote surgical procedures and allow students to observe interactively using high-bandwidth videoconferencing. During the launch, UCLA provided a video stream of a live surgical procedure on a hand. Members of the Internet2 audience were able to interact with the surgeon—who was performing a rare procedure known as a scaphoid excision and limited arthrodesis of the wrist with spider plate fixation—through a physician in the operating room and with a group of medical students who observed the live surgery through the Visualization Portal at UCLA. The live surgery was juxtaposed with interactive 3-D virtual reality images of a dissected hand—netcast from Stanford's SUMMIT research center—providing a unique opportunity to compare real and virtual images. In the image above, LeRoy Heinrichs, Director of Surgical Simulation at SUMMIT, demonstrates the type of remote surgical procedure that surgeons will be able to perform using CORN. The initial CORN participants include USC, Stanford, UCLA, and UC San Diego. CORN utilizes the advanced services of CENIC's CalREN network and also uses Internet2's Abilene network infrastructure. A link to the netcast archive for the CORN launch is listed below.

> CENIC's InterAct Magazine [PDF]
> CORN Launch netcast archive [RealMedia]

Multi-Center Clinical Trials

Finding a large enough patient population for performing clinical trials for rare diseases is difficult. Using an Internet-based digital network facilitates the sharing of acquired information between many locations and becomes key to establishing a successful multi-center clinical trial. Through funding by National Library of Medicine's Biomedical Applications of the NGI program the Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) in Baltimore Maryland and the ISIS Center at Georgetown University in Washington DC have established an Internet-based digital imaging network that allows MRI studies of patients with the rare disease, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) to be shared. MRI studies are sent to a centralized clinical database at the KKI using the digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) 3.0 standard as an image format and transmission protocol. The network supports both the commercial Internet and NGI environments, creating a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of network environment on the application. Although the commercial Internet provides the necessary infrastructure for centralizing the data, the increased transmission speed offered by the NGI connection allows for physicians to discuss the images, correlate them with other disease findings, measure disease severity, and request additional MRI studies in real-time, permitting a more efficient clinical evaluation strategy. A demonstration of this digital MRI network will be featured at the Internet2 booth in the InfoRAD exhibit area at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, 1-6 December 2002 in Chicago.

Telemedicine and Pediatric Cardiology Education

East Carolina University through its Telemedicine Center has broad expertise in both the technical and clinical aspects of telemedicine. The Telemedicine Center was one of the Phase II award recipients of the NLM Biomedical Applications of the Next Generation Internet (NGI) contract #N01-LM-9-3541. The goal of the award-winning project is to develop, assemble, and test IP video models for delivery of clinical care and medical education over the NGI. Specific applications under development as a result of this award include remote interactive medical consultation in 10 specialties, storage and transmission of coronary cineangiograms, electrodiagnostic evaluation to rural and underserved areas, and an NGI-based library of pediatric heart sounds and echocardiograms for self-directed instruction. According to David Balch, Director of Telemedicine at the ECU Brody School of Medicine, "IP video over NGI has the potential to provide a common telecommunication infrastructure for real-time high bandwidth medical applications that cannot be supported by the commodity Internet." Balch continued, "NGI solutions for real-time telemedicine with high bandwidth video and audio requirements could eventually eliminate the need for expensive dedicated telemedicine networks and give broader access to these services."

Digital Brain Atlases

At the University of California, Los Angeles Laboratory for Neuro Imaging (LONI), high-resolution brain data is collected from MRI scans, digitized slices of cryosectioned brains, and light microscopes, and processed to create 3-D datasets that range from 100 MB to 10 GB in size. Software recreates a 3-D model of the brain, generates a "road map" that allows a particular brain to be compared against other brains, and allows the development of population-based, digital brain atlases. These atlases store information on how the brain varies across age and gender, across time, in health and diseases such as Alzheimer's, and in large human populations. Internet2 high-performance connectivity will ultimately allow the data to be made available within a superstructure or federation of databases with a common means of access. According to LONI Director Dr. Arthur W. Toga, "These Internet2 high bandwidth enhancements to the infrastructure enable cooperative and distributed neuroscience to take place on a global scale." LONI receives funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

NLM Testbed for Collaborative Videoconferencing

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides a testbed environment demonstrating the use of MPEG-2 videoconferencing and NTSC quality video over Internet2 networks and the Next Generation Internet (NGI) for use in telemedicine/consultation and distance learning programs. Quality of Service requirements for healthcare applications on high-performance networks are being researched concerning the integrity of the information being transmitted and the value added by real-time interaction. The testbed environment allows point to point and multi-point videoconferencing (via multicast) between collaborating sites, and also allows transmission of a range of medical content from varied sources, including presentation stands, videomicroscopes, videotape, digital stethoscopes, and otoscopes. Demonstrations of the technology are ongoing and configuration of the testbed continues to evolve.

Satava Award

SUMMIT (Stanford University Medical Media and Information Technologies) is a research and development center in the Stanford School of Medicine dedicated to positioning Stanford as a leader in medical and lifesciences education through the innovative use of information technology. SUMMIT received the prestigious Satava Award at the January 2002 Medicine Meets Virtual Reality conference. "This award for outstanding contributions to the use of virtual reality technology in healthcare was created eight years ago to acknowledge the leadership of Dr. Richard Satava," according to Parvati Dev, PhD, Director of SUMMIT. Two of the several research projects currently underway at SUMMIT include the Next Generation Internet (NGI) under development as a collaborative simulation and haptics-based learning program for anatomy and surgery that will operate over Internet2 high-performance networks, and the Virtual Labs Project, a collaboration with Biology and Human Biology to generate interactive and simulation-based learning environments in physiology for undergraduates. Dr. LeRoy Heinrichs — Emeritus Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Director of Surgical Simulation at SUMMIT— added, "The Satava Award represents for SUMMIT the recognition that educational technologies and their evaluation have become mainstream in medical learning." Dev and Heinrichs both emphasized the importance of Internet2 in providing access to complex, simulation-based learning environments.

Virtual Tumor Board

A tumor board is a gathering of leading authorities (surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, etc.) collaborating together in the diagnosis and treatment of the cancer patient. Traditionally, a tumor board meets in-person to review patient history, physical examination findings, laboratory and imaging results in order to determine their consensus-based management recommendations. A multidisciplinary team within the University of Washington's School of Medicine has developed a set of collaborative Internet tools allowing distributed tumor board conferencing using the Next Generation Internet (NGI). The effort, funded through the National Library of Medicine's Biomedical Applications of the NGI program, is lead by Brent K. Stewart, Professor of Radiology and Director of Imaging Informatics. The Seattle-area sites participating in this initiative include the University of Washington Academic Medical Center, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. In addition to collaboration via IP videoconferencing from these locations, the virtual tumor board participants use a web-based information system to display and share case records, pathology slides, radiology images, video, graphics, documents, and treatment protocols. In the next phase of this initiative, Stewart's team hopes to extend the virtual tumor board to include under-served areas in Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming. According to Stewart, "By developing tools that remove geographical constraints and increase collaboration between experts in managing cancer care we hope to ultimately provide more effective treatments for patients."

Renal Physiology Modules

Current one-dimensional mediums limit students' ability to "see into" the dynamic systems of the body. To overcome these limitations, the Stanford University's Medical Media and Information Technologies (SUMMIT) Project is developing interactive and simulation-based learning environments in physiology for undergraduates at Stanford. The first module in renal physiology contains a knowledgebase in kidney structure, function, and difficult renal concepts addressed in the traditional course material. Topics include auto regulation, urinalysis, and countercurrent (cc) multiplier. The module contains a laboratory and quiz section that allows students to integrate and apply their knowledge to real-life problems. Finally, a resource section contains a glossary, previous lecture material, and a link to an online office hours chat room. Future modules will include such topics as neuro, cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal physiology. Internet2 high-performance networks will enable these interactive and simulation-base learning environments to be shared among member universities.

Virtual Pelvic Floor

Successful surgical intervention depends on the surgeon's ability to conceptually visualize complex anatomical structures, such as the pelvic floor, three-dimensionally. Virtual Pelvic Floor, developed by the Virtual Reality in Medicine Lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago, provides new method of teaching the complex anatomy of the pelvic region utilizing virtual reality and advanced networking technology. Virtual reality technology allows improved visualization of three-dimensional structures over conventional media because it supports stereo vision, viewer-centered perspective, large angles of view, and interactivity. Two or more ImmersaDesk™ systems, drafting table format virtual reality displays, are networked together providing an environment where teacher and students share a high quality three-dimensional anatomical model, and are able to converse, see each other, and to point in three dimensions to indicate areas of interest. This project was realized by the teamwork of surgeons, medical artists and sculptors, computer scientists, and computer visualization experts.

ImmersaDesk is a trademark of The University of Illinois, Board of Trustees

Medical Informatics

Medical informatics is a broad field spanning electronic medical records, telemedicine, information retrieval, image processing and analysis, bioinformatics, and evaluation methodologies. Outcomes research is the study of the effectiveness of health care using large data sources and other advanced technologies. Using Internet2 high-speed networking and distance learning modalities, students in the informatics programs within Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the University of Pittsburgh have access to a broader range of faculty, areas of subject expertise, and other students with whom to collaborate. The OHSU Division of Medical Informatics & Outcomes Research now offers a distance learning Graduate Certificate Program in Medical Informatics. The certificate program focuses on all areas of medical informatics, including electronic medical records, information retrieval, medical decision-making, telemedicine, clinician information needs, artificial intelligence, and outcomes research. As a result of their medical informatics training, graduates are better able to take on additional IT responsibilities in their existing careers or embark on new careers as developers and managers of healthcare IT systems.

Security and Privacy for Academic Medical Centers

To assist medical schools and teaching hospitals in addressing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, a series of workshops were sponsored by several organizations, including the National Library of Medicine, the AAMC Group on Information Resources, Internet2, and the Object Management Group. The workshop participants analyzed current health information security and privacy polices, made recommendations, and developed a set of best practices for healthcare security and privacy. The 367-page document Guidelines for Academic Medical Centers on Security and Privacy: Practical Strategies for Addressing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the product of these workshops and provides guidelines for compliance to over 3000 pages of federal regulation. The AAMC and other sponsoring organizations held two public kick-off events to raise awareness of the unique issues faced by academic medical centers in implementing privacy and security, and to provide additional insights into the recommendations. A west coast event was held on 26 June 2001 in Oakland, CA at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building. An east coast kick-off event was held on 28 June 22001 in Bethesda, MD at the National Library of Medicine.