Picture this: A chronically ill child in a Southeast Asian village receives a lifesaving diagnosis from renowned University specialists. The doctors and child never meet face to face, but advances in computer technology allow the doctor to examine the patient.
At the College of Engineering, the School of Information and the University Medical Center, researchers are developing methods to break down distance barriers and make face-to-face communication possible, using phone lines and high-tech multimedia computers.
Such research efforts received a boost after Intel Corp., a computer manufacturing company, gave the University a $6-million grant to advance interactive and collaborative computing. Intel chose 12 universities to receive cutting edge computers, networking tools, servers and workstations.
With the added technology, the University can "provide students state of the art training," said School of Information Prof. Maurita Holland. Holland said the technology "enables and empowers (researchers) to create, capture, possess, store and access knowledge."
School of Information Dean Daniel Atkins said students around the world can connect with University students through computers to perform experiments and collaborate on research.
"The point of this technology is to allow teams of people to work together, despite of different time and place," Atkins said.
While the School of Information bases much of its curriculum on the Internet and computing networks, University Hospitals also benefits from the communication age.
The University Medical Center is "going to build a high-end network of machines," said Tim Pletcher, manager of information technology.
"The overall goal is to allow researchers and clinical practitioners to share information and use this as infrastructure in clinical areas," Pletcher said.
Pletcher said the collaboration of information, done through video conferencing and data-sharing, will be a "bridge between research and the medical field."
Telemedicine, the practice of medicine conducted at two different locations, enables doctors to view and examine patients, review x-rays and discuss treatment over phone lines with the aid of computers, said School of Medicine Prof. Daniel Teitelbaum.
"The grant ... covers a unique niche of communication, which is to improve telemedicine links with regard to maternal/child (health)," Teitelbaum said
Instead of driving eight hours from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to see a University pediatrician in Ann Arbor, U.P. patients can receive a diagnosis in their own town.
On an experimental basis, the University also gets patient images from places as far away as Asia. "The telemedicine console gets incredible images transferred," said Chief of Clinical Affairs James Wooliscroft. "It's the proverbial 'a picture is worth a thousand words.'"
University Hospitals has worked with area doctors to familiarize emergency care practitioners with the new telemedicine system, located in the basement of Mott Children's Hospital.
Medical School Prof. Michele Nypaver said pediatric emergency care so far has been given to about 85 patients via telecommunication technology.
"We can see patients very well and take care of most fairly acute problems," Nypaver said. "It's an interesting dynamic ... parents and families have really liked it because pretty sick kids could immediately talk to a tertiary center."
Nypaver said future endeavors include emergency telemedicine to resuscitate kids when area care is not available. In addition to telemedicine, the computers will be used to educate medical students and doctors. Rare diseases will be viewed and examined with a click of the mouse.
Aside from benefits related to University Hospitals, the Intel grant will apply to other University projects as well:
n The Practical Engagement Experience is a program that will be directly affected by the Intel grant. "Students work out of the nation and apply information to disadvantaged society," Atkins said. With the additional technology, students on field assignment can stay connected to the University and have a support system, Atkins said.
n School of Information Prof. Paul Resnick joins the faculty this fall to set up the new Intel servers used in his fall course. He will teach students how to evaluate the credibility of medical Internet sites. Resnick's students will create a rating scale based on standards chosen by the class. The server used by Resnick's class gathers and redistributes information and the final product is intended for use beyond the classroom.
n In other areas of the School of Information, digital library research projects are addressing how to take millions of different resources and link them together, allowing people to find them easily, Atkins said.
n The College of Engineering will receive "250 workstations to run simulations and help design better computer networking," said Engineering Prof. Gary Tyson. The college currently has a number of different projects in the making, including an artificial intelligence battlefield simulator and a course featuring a virtual stock market.
"Certain classes will really improve," Tyson said. "We could not teach without several machines."
Engineers will also team up with School of Information researchers to do information processing projects.
JONATHAN SUMMER/Daily
Dr. Michele Nypaver, a clinical assistant professor at University Hospitals, consults yesterday with Sandy Spangler, a registered nurse at Fotte Hospital in Jackson through a Vtel Lc127 video conferencing system modified for telemedicine.