Demonstration of Multimedia Medical Imaging System to Improve Cancer Research and Care

November 8, 2002
Contact: Dr. Donal Hollywood, St. Luke's Hospital, Dublin (ph. 353-1-406-5000) (Dublin) - St. Luke's Hospital and Belfast City Hospital will together provide a demonstration of a state-of-the-art, broadcast-quality telemedicine system on 13 November 2002 at St. Luke's Hospital in Dublin. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Director of U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), will attend the demonstration of the new system, along with representatives of cancer services in Dublin and Belfast. U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Richard Egan will also be in attendance. The system will promote collaboration between cancer specialists, facilitate professional education and training, and permit consultation in cancer research protocols and patient care throughout the island of Ireland and at selected sites in the United States.

The NCI and the Center for Information Technology of the NIH developed the system, which is called TELESYNERGY^®. It combines cameras, microscopes, audio equipment, and a variety of peripheral devices to provide high-resolution display of images from multiple medical modalities in both real-time and store-and-forward modes. It enables scientists and clinicians at multiple laboratories and hospitals to interact simultaneously with one another. Its installation on the island of Ireland will be the first time the system has been used outside of the United States.

The implementation of TELESYNERGY^® is part of a larger initiative of the Ireland-Northern Ireland-National Cancer Institute Cancer Consortium to enhance the island's informatics infrastructure as it relates to cancer clinical medicine and research. The Consortium, founded at the Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1999, is a unique partnership that promotes work across borders to enhance cancer research, treatment, and care throughout the island of Ireland and in the United States.

Since its inception, the Consortium has grown into a collaborative group of oncologists, cancer researchers, nurses, information technology specialists, hospital officials, and government and industry representatives working together to improve training, communications, cancer research, and quality of care across the island. The TELESYNERGY^®system represents a distinct improvement over standard videoconferencing technologies. In practical terms, it offers better resolution images, eliminates delays in communication between cancer professionals, and minimizes travel by patients and providers. On a larger scale, it promotes national and international expertise in cancer research and treatment by enhancing the adoption of uniform standards of care.

TELESYNERGY^®has many potential and varied uses, including:

• Clinical case conferences
• Grand rounds
• Expert case review
• Multicenter radiotherapy planning
• Clinical management protocol development
• Distance learning
• Seminars
• Patient screening for clinical trials

In addition to standard teleconferencing capability, TELESYNERGY^® allows for the transmission of high-quality diagnostic radiology and pathology images, and for the discussion and remote manipulation of biopsy specimens. Although jurisdiction-specific TELESYNERGY^® projects are under way, North-South undertakings are also being planned. "One of the initial areas of clinical investigation to utilize the technology within TELESYNERGY^® will be a joint U.S. - Ireland study of the clinical, molecular and genetic factors that predetermine patient sensitivity to new forms of chemo-radiation treatment. Ultimately TELESYNERGY^® will enable the development of an 'international virtual campus' between our geographically separate hospitals and through this enhance all areas of oncology practice including professional training, clinical trial participation, translational research, and the management of patients with complex and rare cancers." says Dr. Donal Hollywood, the Marie Curie Professor of Clinical Oncology at Trinity College and St. Luke's Hospital, Dublin. Dr. Hollywood also serves as Chair of the Consortium's Information Technology Working Group. A newly formed users' group, which will include delegates from Northern Ireland, Ireland, and TELESYNERGY^® sites in the United States, will convene at NCI in Bethesda, Maryland in early 2003 to share their experiences with the system and explore potential applications. TELESYNERGY^® will provide a vehicle with which to formalize and facilitate real-time interactions between the cancer research communities in the North and South and in the U.S. It is hoped that the system will lead to expanded participation of the island of Ireland in clinical research, and ultimately to improved clinical cancer care. Dr. Patrick Johnston, Director of the Cancer Research Centre at Belfast City Hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been involved with the installation and implementation of TELESYNERGY^® at his institution, and has collaborated with Dr. Hollywood and others at St. Luke's. "The implementation of the TELESYNERGY^® technology platform in St. Luke's and Belfast City Hospitals now allows real-time conferencing between Ireland, North and South, and the United States, and will facilitate the transfer of new knowledge and the ability to deliver collaborative partnership that will benefit patient care in Ireland and in the United States.