Abstract

Background
/Aims: Telemedicine has opened the door to a wide range of learning experience to the doctors and students working and studying at various remote locations. However, there are limitations to this technology, such as the lack of any approved international standards of ethics. The aim of our study was to establish a telemedical education system using the Digital Video Transfer System (DVTS) on the high-speed network. Methods: The Asia Pacific Information Infrastructure (APII) link was used to connect Korea with Japan, and the Korea Advanced Research Network (KOREN) was used to connect Busan with Seoul. Teleconferencing and video streaming between Hanyang University Hospital in Seoul and Kyushu University Hospital in Japan were realized using DVTS over the Ipv4 network. Results: Four endoscopic surgeries and two endoscopic procedures were successfully transmitted between Seoul and Kyushu, while concomitant teleconferences were taking place between the two cities throughout the operations. An adequate bandwidth of 60 Mbps was kept for two-line transmissions. The quality of transmitted video image showed no frame loss with a rate of 30 images per second. The sound was also clear, and the time delay was less than 0.3 sec. Conclusions: We have established an international medical network with high-quality video transmission over Internet medium and this was easy to perform, reliable and economical. (Korean J Gastrointest Endosc 2006;32:161⁣167)

• Keywords: Telemedicine, Network, Medical education