NYU MEDICAL CENTER GETS TO THE HEART OF HD TECHNOLOGY WITH SONY

PARK RIDGE, N.J., April 20, 2005 - Dr. Stephen Colvin is on the cutting edge in more ways than one. As chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, he has pioneered methods of minimally invasive cardiac surgery that are now used by hospitals worldwide.

He has also helped to introduce the use of high-definition video technology to enhance distance learning, teleconferencing and lecture methods. And at the heart of it all is an array of Sony HD cameras, monitors and videoconferencing products.

"The imaging and display products we have are very beneficial for several applications, including use as a teaching tool so the fellows, residents and visiting physicians who come here to learn can view our procedures in the best quality image," said Colvin."

Colvin and his team have found that HD video is an ideal way of visualizing the heart, as well as for designing life-like 3-D animations of a beating heart to use in training.

"The clarity is so much better," Colvin said. "It gives us the higher resolution needed to better delineate between tissue and fat, for example. Everything is much clearer: the precision, the accuracy, how beautiful things are, how much more realistic everything looks. The 3-D effects are also really powerful."

The improved color definition enabled by the Sony HD monitors is extremely helpful. For example, "true" red is often very difficult to capture on video, but the Sony monitors flatten them to make accurate reproduction easier.

"Before, we'd have to spend more time playing with lighting and moving things around just to get a good picture," Colvin said.

Three operating rooms within the NYU Medical Center are fully HD-enabled and also connected by Sony videoconferencing products. Colvin has a Sony PCS-TL50 desktop conferencing system in his office, so he can view procedures in progress from his desk, or display them during boardroom presentations.

"I can even watch the preparations being done for surgery, so I know when the team is ready for me to come down to the operating room," Colvin said.

Colvin and his team have been exploring the integration of HD video and cardiac surgery for several years.

In the mid `90s, a live HD transmission of a procedure being done at NYU was up-linked to a surgical convention in New Orleans, according to Allan Katz, president of àVTS Medical, the systems integrator that managed the equipment installations at NYU.

Katz added that NYU is also linked to other New York area hospitals through the PCS-TL50 system, for sharing footage of procedures and for distance learning.

Sony imaging, display and videoconferencing products at NYU include:

O.R. #1:

O.R. #2

O.R. #17

Guest Viewing Area (outside O.R.s 1 and 2)

Conference Room

Dr. Colvin's Office

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