As the technology for high-definition (HD) telepresence solutions continue to expand, the importance of time and distance can often fade away.

 

Polycom (News - Alert) has shrunk the relevance of distance even further today announcing its new HD telepresence solution for healthcare applications that enables medical professionals to provide patients access to care from anywhere.

 

The Pleasanton, California-based maker of voice and video equipment launched its Polycom Practitioner Cart HDX series designed to deliver the full range of HD resolutions, including 1080p and 720p at 30 frames per second (fps) and broadcast quality 720p at 60 fps, in a mobile, wireless-capable, integrated system featuring seamless interoperability with medical peripheral devices, according to the company.

 

Dr. Andrew Watson, medical director of the Center for Connected Medicine at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center corporate headquarters, says these types of  mobile solutions play a key role in day-to-day clinical outpatient and inpatient settings.

 

“Time to delivery of care is critically important, particularly in stroke and other emergent conditions where getting patients connected quickly to the right specialist can provide better outcomes and even save lives,” said Watson.

 

The maneuverable technology can enhance the quality of care within facilities by providing access to specialists that might otherwise not be available, according to Watson.

 

The push to reduce rising costs plaguing the healthcare industry has led to innovations from the telecom industry and Polycom’s communications solutions is helping bring patients even in the most remote areas to hospitals and healthcare facilities without ever having to leave their homes.

 

As TMCnet recently reported, NuPhysicia is combining the latest Polycom visual communication technology with a decade in real-world telemedicine applications that is creating a solution to bring change to health care.

 

NuPhysicia provides physician services to patients and telemedicine goods, services and expertise to healthcare organizations. Through the use of extensive visual communication and electronic patient medical records, NuPhysicia offers on-site health programs with the same capabilities as a doctor’s office

 

Now, the Polycom Practitioner Cart is providing mobile, flexible telehealth solutions in an effort to bring clinical expertise quickly to the point of care, including rural emergency rooms.

“The ability to connect medical devices and transmit sounds, images and video instantly with clarity helps our physicians to facilitate treatment remotely with confidence," said Watson.

 

The Polycom platform allows medical and non-medical peripheral devices to be connected to the telepresence system via an integrated switch box and connection panel, allowing real-time images to be shared in high resolution (e.g. images of a patient's throat, ears or skin), according to the company.

 

The system interoperates with all standards-based medical peripheral devices and has the ability to run in-band stethoscopes, which provides unparalleled quality for listening to heart and lung sounds in real time, while still giving the clinician the ability to view the patient. Healthcare professionals can also use the system for broadcasting medical procedures for education or mentoring purposes.

 

Polycom’s line of HD solutions has continued to grow in recent months with companies, hospitals and organizations of all sizes incorporated its products. As TMCnet recently reported, a Canada-based provider of hosted PBX (News - Alert) services announced that it has integrated Polycom’s IP business media phone into its flagship offering. Officials at Versature say they’re the first hosted provider in the maple leaf nation to integrate the new VVX 1500 phone from Polycom.

 

"The ability to bring technology to the patient point of care is more important than ever in today's dynamic healthcare environment. Polycom worked closely with our telehealth advisory council, comprised of leading industry experts, to develop a telehealth solution for real-world applications," said Ron Emerson (News - Alert) RN-BSN, global director of healthcare for Polycom, board member of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and chairman of the ATA industry council.

 

Executives from Polycom are demonstrating the new Polycom Practitioner Cart HDX, along with other voice, video and mobility solutions for medical and healthcare applications at the HIMSS09 Conference and Expo from  April 4 to April 8 at the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago.