News for and about the Internet2 community

["Jamie Abel" <>]

NEWS RELEASE 
For Immediate Release: March 18, 2009

Ohio center focused on global telehealth applications launches website
to promote services, membership  
Telehealth Video Resource Center on the Web at: www.telehealthvrc.org 


Columbus, Ohio (March 18, 2009) The recently established Telehealth
Video Resource Center (TVRC) today officially launched a website to make
the centerʼs videoconferencing services easily available to physicians
and healthcare education professionals worldwide.  

The TVRC web site, www.telehealthvrc.org, provides visitors with
videoconference hardware and software requirements, scheduling tools,
telehealth news and instruction, an e-health forum, membership
information and staff and advisory board biographical sketches.  

TVRC supports the use of high-quality video for health education and
training, research, and associated clinical activities, explains Charles
R. Doarn, the centerʼs executive director. Healthcare providers with
little technical experience can easily access TVRC resources to
communicate via high-quality videoconferencing with other health
providers.  

Telehealth is the practice of using telecommunication equipment and
computing technology to support health interests. Development of
telehealth applications has made it possible for the center to use
medicine as a demonstration model for developing a worldwide
infrastructure to aid in minimizing the digital divide felt by people in
remote and impoverished nations.  

TVRC clients might share grand rounds where doctors meet to discuss
multiple patients, offer demonstrations of new and emerging clinical
practices, hold multi-center interactions and conduct clinical trials
and other research projects. The center also provides a technology forum
for the continued development of telehealth processes and standards.  

Ohio officials have placed the Buckeye State at the forefront of
telehealth technology by investing in an advanced, statewide fiber-optic
network and in pilot telehealth projects at the Ohio Academic Resources
Network (OARnet), the technology infrastructure arm of the University
System of Ohio. Early telehealth projects included a series of
videoconferences where U.S. road trauma specialists shared insights with
healthcare professionals in Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
Another pilot project involved American surgeons demonstrating
orthopedic knee surgery for colleagues in China.  

OARnet established TVRC with a goal of the center operating as an
independent, nonprofit organization once it becomes self-sustaining. In
addition to OARnet and the University System of Ohio, other partners
supporting the center include the World Bank, Internet2 and the Ohio
Supercomputer Center. Center officials expect to develop networking
services for professionals in other fields in the coming years.  

-30-  

The World Bank is a combination of two development institutions owned
by 185 member countries that provides financial and technical assistance
to developing countries around the world. For more information, visit
www.worldbank.org.  

Internet2 is the United States’ foremost advanced networking
consortium. Led by the research and education community, Internet2  
brings together leaders from academia, industry and government to
develop and deploy advanced Internet technologies. For more  
information, visit www.internet2.edu.  

The University System of Ohio is comprised of the stateʼs 14 public
universities, 24 branch campuses, 23 community colleges, and more than
200 adult workforce education centers and training programs. For more
information, visit www.uso.edu.  

The Ohio Academic Resources Network provides Ohio colleges,
universities and research partners an integrated technology
infrastructure that includes unrivaled intrastate network connectivity
and shared services. For more information, visit www.oar.net.  

The Ohio Supercomputer Center is a catalytic partner of Ohio
universities and industries, providing a reliable high performance
computing resources for education, academic research, industry and state
government. For more information, visit www.osc.edu.  



Mr. Jamie Abel, APR
Media and Communications Director
Ohio Supercomputer Center/
    Ohio Academic Resources Network
1224 Kinnear Road
Columbus, Ohio 43212-1163

Office: 614-292-6495
Mobile: 614-886-1813
Internet: 


Learn more about OSC at http://www.osc.edu .
Learn more about OARnet at http://www.oar.net .