|
Belfast City Hospital
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
In July, 2002, Belfast City Hospital became the first TELESYNERGY® site in Northern Ireland, as part of the All Ireland Cancer Consortium.
The new state-of-the-art technology enables scientists and clinicians in Ireland to interact
in 'real time' with each other and with cancer specialists at the world-renowned National Cancer
Institute (NCI). It places them in a 'virtual' room in Belfast or Dublin with all the information
and images needed to allow the NCI experts to provide analysis and advice to our leading cancer
experts. Without TELESYNERGY® this sort of interaction would be impossible to achieve unless the
NCI expert was physically standing in Belfast or Dublin. The TELESYNERGY® system will greatly
enhance the level of cancer patient care in Ireland and it is the first installation and use of
its kind outside the United States.
At present the TELESYNERGY® users are Radiation Oncologists, Physicists, Radiation Therapists,
Engineers and Nurses. The first Consortium Users meeting took place in Washington in January 2003,
attended by representatives from Ireland, including a clinical trials radiation therapist from St
Luke's Hospital in Dublin. The newly formed Users Group shared their experiences with
the system and explored potential applications. One of the initial areas of clinical investigation
to utilize the technology within TELESYNERGY® will be a joint US - 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 the 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. The group shared their ideas about the use
of the telemedicine system for educational and training purposes (including joint conferences) and
for assessment of the system.
Equipment installed at this site: Full TELESYNERGY® system using NIH software on a Sun Workstation.
|
