Transmission of Endoscopic Procedures from the Medical Sciences Campus to Four Institutions Simultaneously
Live Video Stream of Endoscopic Procedures from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine to the Johns Hopkins Hospital via Internet2
On November 13, 2007, the RCMI Center for Research Information Architecture transmitted a live video stream of endoscopic views from the Experimental Surgery Laboratory of the University of Puerto RIco School of Medicine to the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Video and audio were transmitted over IP via Internet2.
Dr. Priscilla Magno and Dr. Manuel Más at the laboratory.
Dr. Anthony N. Kalloo interacts with physicians at the laboratory via videoconference while viewing live video of the endoscopic procedures.
Endoscopic procedures were performed in an animal at the Experimental Surgery Lab by Dr. Priscilla Magno, with assistance from Dr. Manuel Más, Lab Director; Dr. Marcia Cruz, and laboratory staff. Dr. Anthony N. Kalloo, Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, provided advice remotely. Interaction between UPR and Hopkins physicians was achieved via videoconference, while endoscopic views were trasmitted to Johns Hopkins as digital video using DVTS - the Digital Video Transport System ( More information on DVTS is available from the DVTS consortium at the Keio Research Institute in Japan (http://www.dvts.jp/en/dvts.html ). Dr. Kalloo described the video streams as "excellent". Transmission was flawless for the three hours of interaction.
Endoscope views from the video stream
Dr. José G. Conde, director of the Center, provided overall coordination of the video streaming project. Aníbal Vega-Montijo, also at the Center, configured and installed video and network setups at the laboratory, and provided technical information about systems requirements at Johns Hopkins. Erick S. Kuhn, Roy Shipley and Steve Frantz worked at Johns Hopkins to configure the network and to deploy the necessary hardware and software at their institution. Daniel Cordero solved connectivity issues at the Medical Sciences Campus network.
Video setup at the laboratory. From left: videoconference unit for communication between physicians at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and physicians at the Experimental Surgery Lab in Puerto Rico; gastroscope video monitor, and laparoscope video monitor.
Aníbal Vega-Montijo manages and monitors streaming of video inputs from the gastroscope and the laparoscope to the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
In accordance with the goals and objectives of the RCMI grant, the Center implements IT tools to foster collaborative research and to minimize the effect of Puerto Rico’s geographical isolation from major research centers. The Center will continue its collaboration with the Experimental Surgery Lab and with Dr. Kalloo’s group, and will look for ways to expand the use of these technologies in other fields as well.
This project was supported by Grant Number G12RR03051 (RCMI Program, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus) from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the investigators, and do not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH.
The Internet2 project at the University of Puerto Rico is funded in part by grant P20RR016470 (INBRE Program, University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Campus) from the NCRR.
