You are here: Telemed.no > News archive > >
Video wall creates new opportunities
2007.07.31 by Jan Fredrik Frantzen
In 2004, the University of Tromsø built a video wall which can display images and films. Could this wall also make medical treatment both faster and more precise?
And the difference from “the old days” is great. In the 1980s, they hung up the X-ray films in front of a small lightbox to study them more closely. Now, they may soon be able to go right up to images extending over the entire wall, while they discuss their findings and reach a conclusion about the appropriate treatment for the patient. Everything is gathered on one screen“To reach diagnoses in radiology, we work mainly with images, and we need to look at several X-rays at the same time. At the hospital today, we can look at two images simultaneously, so that we can assess the patient's condition at two different stages,” says Petter Eldevik, chief physician at the radiology department at UNN.With the large screen at the University, however, they can look at many images simultaneously - or display large versions of selected individual images. And they will be able to retrieve several information sources on the screen at the same time, for example, the patient record, X-rays, and videoconferencing with other specialists or the radiology laboratory. “It is tempting to be able to gather all the information in one place, and then zoom into details that you want to be able to examine more closely, without having to search through menus and lists and waiting for images and reports to be read into the display,” says Eldevik. “The potential of a wall like this lies primarily in better and more flexible communication of X-rays and other information in a large format, making it easier for doctors to evaluate treatment for the patient.” Far more affordable than it used to beBernt-Ivar Olsen at the Department of Computer Science is responsible for testing the large wall. He comments that it would cost far less to build a video wall like this today, compared with three years ago when this wall was built.“It cost about NOK 5 million to build this wall in 2004, but today the price tag would be much lower. For example, the price of projectors is much lower today than it was three years ago. In addition, advances in computer development mean that fewer computers are needed to run the projectors today,” Olsen explains. It is also possible to achieve even higher quality today. This may make it even more attractive to introduce this technology. In addition, many adaptations can be made to customize the technology for medical use. The researchers will now start developing software to handle the great computing power needed to display X-rays on such a wall. “We need to modify the software, because everything used today is designed for displaying images on small screens. Fortunately, open-source radiology programs are already available, so that we can adapt them to our needs.” More informationDeveloping the video wall for medical use is an ongoing project within Tromsø Telemedicine Laboratory (TTL) called "Using display walls for improved treatment of patients with chronic diseases". You can contact professor Gunnar Hartvigsen at TTL for more information about this project, telephone +47 906 57 785 or email Gunnar.Hartvigsen@telemed.no
|
E-mail this
© Norwegian Centre for Integrated Care and Telemedicine | Contact | Editor: Elisabeth Jakobsen | Webmaster: Jarl-Stian Olsen | Content management system by CustomPublish | Webstats