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Pisa Hospital in Pisa, Italy established the innovative ENDOCAS Center for Computer Assisted Surgery (CAS) to conduct research in the field of surgical navigation and simulation. One project within the ENDOCAS program is the Emergency Training Center (ETC). The ENDOCAS ETC required a state-of-the-art recording solution that would preserve the most intricate details for more effective post-session review and archiving.

According to Michele Falconetti, Sales Director for AVM SNC, audio visual technology integrator for the ENDOCAS ETC project, "ENDOCAS training session visuals include complex computer-generated graphics, patient hemodynamic activity, and multiple video cameras interspersed throughout the ETC. To meet this demanding recording requirement, the Center implemented RGB Spectrum's JPEG2000 digital recording system to record and review training sessions".

The DGy recording system was the ideal solution for this requirement. Its leading edge JPEG2000 wavelet-based codec technology provides near-lossless image compression, delivering the highest fidelity reproduction superior to other digital recording technologies.

The ENDOCAS program trains medical personnel for working in emergency operating rooms and in triage situations. As students perform diagnostic, trauma, and surgical procedures, Instructors record the training scenarios in progress with the DGy codec. Students perform procedures such as closed cardiac message and reanimation, using a specially equipped surgical dummy.

Following the training scenarios, instructors lead students in the adjacent debriefing room to replay the recordings and review and evaluate the training sessions. Features particularly popular with instructors include event marking and random access capability. During the training session and post-session reviews, instructors can place markers at any points of special interest in the recordings. Then, instructors can randomly access these points. Instructors use the DGy codec's embedded Graphical User Interface to operate its full complement of functions.

Falconetti concluded, "The DGy recording system puts the ENDOCAS program at the forefront of medical training. The DGy digital recording system's advanced JPEG2000 compression technology provides the highest fidelity reproduction, preserving intricate details of complex medical imagery for effective training. The response from instructors and students alike has been excellent. The hospital is planning to expand the use of this recording technology in a number of other projects."

In addition to medical applications, RGB Spectrum's DGy recording and streaming technology has become the de facto standard in numerous mission critical applications, including simulation, command-and-control, emergency operations centers, missile testing, security, and telemetry.

AudioVideo and Multimedia (AVM SNC), located in Pisa, Italy, is an integrator specializing in advanced audio-visual and multimedia technology solutions for commercial, medical, education, industrial and government applications. AVM SNC provides complete design, integration, training, and technical support services. For more information, call 39-(0)-50-965-6069 or visit www.audiovideomultimedia.it.

The Pisa Hospital, officially known as Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana, is affiliated with the University of Pisa in Pisa, Italy. Pisa Hospital's ENDOCAS Center for Computer Assisted Surgery (CAS), established inside the hospital in 2003, conducts research in the field of surgical navigation and simulation for training. For more information, call 39-(0)-50-996820, Critical Area Educational Staff Director Dott.ssa Maria Grana, at m.grana@ao-pisa.toscana.it, or visit www.med.unipi.it:patchir/home.htm or endodoc.it.