March 8, 2007 Three demonstrations were held during 23 and 24 January 2007 covering advanced surgical techniques, surgical training centres of excellence and Avian influenza co-operation using high-quality digital video using DVTS software. TEIN2 partners joined representatives from 25 countries in a demonstration on laparoscopic distal gastrectomy from Seoul National University Hospital in Korea, which also involved TEIN2 partners from Malaysia and the Philippines for the first time. The demonstration showcased the increasing importance of connecting surgeons in disparate locations to share best practice and learn new surgical techniques. It also highlighted how the development of trainee surgeons and the provision of support to medical professionals unable to travel to regional training facilities can be achieved over high-capacity networks such as TEIN2. As countries continue to develop medical centres of excellence across the Asia-Pacific region for the purpose of training endoscopic and laparoscopic surgical techniques, the second demonstration offered delegates the chance to take part in a virtual tour of surgical training centres in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. What the tours successfully demonstrated was the extent to which the TEIN2 network contributes substantially to the development and deployment of virtual medical training practices across the Asia-Pacific region. The final telemedicine demonstration provided an interactive teleconference focused on the highly topical teleconference on Avian flu. This involved live presentations of discussions between medical experts in all six countries benefiting from the European Commissions support for TEIN2: China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, along with other experts in Australia, Japan and North America. Virtual teleconference environments where experts and those affected can interact in much the same way as if they were in the same room is becoming increasingly more important when dealing with potential outbreaks of emerging infections. This ground-breaking broadcast of three demonstrations was made possible by intense collaborative work by TEIN2 partners and other Asian networks, who successfully restored the TEIN2 network connectivity following damage sustained during the 27 December 2006 earthquake in Taiwan. DANTE's David West, TEIN2 Project Manager, said, "For the first time we have seen medical professionals in all developed and developing TEIN2 partner countries able to work together across the TEIN2 network. Such collaborations are clearly of vital importance to help tackle such major worldwide challenges as Avian flu and level up the medical expertise across the region. All three demonstrations represent a perfect illustration of how superior acoustic and picture quality delivered over the TEIN2 network can support the virtual working practise of medical experts across multiple countries." ### |
