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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Press Information No. 39 - 2000
Darmstadt, October 25, 2000
Telemedicine - economical and available everywhere
TeleInViVo project wins the European Technology Prize
Researchers decode the human genome with the help of high-performance computers. New Media is changing education and work at a rapid pace. Digital photo finishes decide who wins the gold medal at Olympic games, and microchips control computers, milling cutters, automobile electronics, and modern household appliances. From science to factory-building - for many sectors of the economy, information technology (IT) has become the driving force and an engine of innovation.
The goals of the »European Information Society Technologies Prize« (IST Prize for short) are to advance the technologies of the information society and initiate innovation and the founding of new businesses. In 2001, the winners of the highest European technology prize, also known as the »Oscar of Information Technology«, include the telemedicine project »TeleInViVo« which was initiated and carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics (IGD).
»TeleInViVo« combines mobility and innovative, efficient information and communication techniques. The interdisciplinary research group developed a transportable telemedical work station which allows for teleconsultations. The station is mobile, and the consultation takes place economically and self-sufficiently because it can be carried out anywhere on earth over any telecommunication channels. A doctor can use the equipment to scan a patient's data - ultrasound or radiology - and send it to an expert thousands of miles away. Both doctors can then view the three-dimensional visual data and discuss a diagnosis and possible treatment methods online, thanks to the various communication aids integrated in the system. The integrated wavelet data compression makes a lossless compression of the record possible. This allows the visualized patient information to be transmitted quickly and easily via Internet, ISDN, or even analog modem or satellite.
Results, pictures, and specific specialized knowledge are thus quickly available to the doctor in attendance or the medical assistant. That can save lives. »Teleconsultations with experts improve the certainty of a diagnosis. The patients are spared the often long path to a specialist. Additionally, there is a reduction in the isolation of people who live on islands or in remote areas, for instance, and whose medical care often makes them 'second-class citizens',« stresses Professor Georgios Sakas from the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, the head of the TeleInViVo project. In the future, the inhabitants of remote, sparsely populated areas or islands will no longer have to do without professional medical care. Pilot projects in the Azores and on the Canary Islands have already been very successful. In cooperation with the UNESCO, additional projects in Uganda and Kazachstan have been carried out successfully. It makes sense to deploy the TeleInViVo system in crisis situation areas. In the meantime, hundreds of successful teleconsultations have impressively confirmed the usefulness of the system. The results have already been publicized at medical conferences.
The Fraunhofer IGD in Darmstadt headed the TeleInViVo project. The technical development was realized in cooperation with the Zentrum für Graphische Datenverarbeitung (Computer Graphics Center) and the Centro de Computação Gráfica (CCG) in Coimbra, Portugal; DSC Dr. Stärk Computer GmbH in Langen and PIE Medical in Maastricht, Holland. The medical validation was carried out by: Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal; Hospital de Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Portugal; CATAI in Spain and UNESCO in Paris, France.
Detailed information on the TeleInViVo project, as well as links to the consortium partners and partner clinics, can be found at:
http://www.igd.fhg.de/teleinvivo
The IST Prize is awarded by the »European Council of Applied Sciences and Engineering« (Euro-CASE) - in which 26 European countries are represented - to honor pioneering, innovative developments and applications in information technology. The prize, which is sponsored and supported by the European Commission, is being awarded for the sixth time. The jury of well-known European experts sets high standards for the »IT Oscars«: not only are top technical quality and innovative content called for, but also potential market value and the possibility of creating new jobs. Winners in past years have included companies such as Intershop, Teles, and Nokia. The »TeleInViVo« telemedicine project is one of 20 awarded applications chosen from proposals submitted by over 200 companies and institutions from 26 countries. From the 20 winners, the jury will use a second round of voting to select 3 projects which, on November 7th in Nice, will receive the »Grand Prize for an IT Europe« from the hand of EU Commissioner Erki Liikanen. The three award winners will each receive 200,000 Euro.
Detailed information on the IST Prize and the winners can be found at:
http://www.it-prize.org
Contact:
Fraunhofer IGD
Corporate Communications
Bernad Lukacin
Phone: +49(0)6151/155 146
Fax: +49(0)6151/155 446
Email: Bernad.Lukacin@igd.fhg.de
The international network of Computer Graphics (INI-GraphicsNet) consists of the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics (IGD), the Computer Graphics Center (ZGDV), both situated in Darmstadt and Rostock and the Darmstadt University of Technology Department of Computer Science Interactive Graphics Systems Group (GRIS). The network comprises of further institutions such as the Fraunhofer Application Center for Computer Graphics in Chemistry and Pharmaceutics (AGC) situated in Frankfurt, the Fraunhofer Center for Research in Computer Graphics (CRCG) in Providence, Rhode Island, the Fraunhofer Centre for Advanced Media Technology (CAMTech), Singapore and the Centro de Computação Gráfica (CCG) in Coimbra, Portugal.
It employs a staff of over 300 and more than 450 assistant researchers at five locations. With a budget of 70 million DM it is the major research alliance in the field of computer graphics world-wide.
http://www.igd.fhg.de/teleinvivo
http://www.it-prize.org
TeleInViVo-Workstation
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TeleInViVo: Graphical User Interface
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Criteria of this press release:
Information technology, Media and communication sciences, Medicine, Nutrition / healthcare / nursing
transregional, national
Personnel announcements, Research results
German
TeleInViVo-Workstation
None
TeleInViVo: Graphical User Interface
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