White paper: technology for surgical telementoring-SAGES Project 6 Technology Working Group.

Background: Recent advances in telecommunication technology and video conferencing systems have opened a new avenue for surgical instruction called "surgical telementoring." This report from the Technology Working Group of the SAGES Project 6 Summit reviews the telementoring technology that currently exists and proposes recommendations for minimum technology requirements and future technology development. While also providing insight in regulatory considerations, this review offers what prospective surgical telementoring participants need to know about the underlying technology with a specific focus on safety, reliability, transmission quality, ease of use, and cost.

Trans-Atlantic Telementoring with Pediatric Surgeons: Technical Considerations and Lessons Learned.

Purpose: Although surgical residency training is a structured, regulated system for surgical skill acquisition, after residency or fellowship, no good method exists for practicing surgeons to learn new, developing techniques. Because 1-2-day simulation courses are probably inadequate for teaching a new technique and because it is often unrealistic for a practicing surgeon to leave his or her practice for an extended period of time, surgical telementoring may be a solution by allowing an expert to support a trained surgeon through the learning curve of a new procedure while overcoming geographic distance. In the past we have presented 6 cases of transcontinental telementoring with pediatric surgeons in the United States.

Telementoring in education of laparoscopic surgeons: An emerging technology.

Laparoscopy, minimally invasive and minimal access surgery with more surgeons performing these advanced procedures. We highlight in the review several key emerging technologies such as the telementoring and virtual reality simulators, that provide a solid ground for delivering surgical education to rural area and allow young surgeons a safety net and confidence while operating on a newly learned technique.

Telemedical technologies in urological cancer care: past, present and future applications.

Since the initial development of telegraphy by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1837 and the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875, doctors have been able to convey medical information across great distances. The exchange and sharing of medical information has evolved and adapted to suit the vast array of today's medicine. Early adopters of telemedicine within clinical practice have gained significant health economic benefits.

Implementing and evaluating a school-based program to improve childhood vision.

Background: Approximately 20% of the American schoolchildren have a vision problem. Children from low-income urban areas have been shown to have more than twice the normal rate of vision problems. This study evaluated the effectiveness of A Vision for Success, a school-based program designed to provide eyeglasses to children in a timely manner in selected New York City public elementary schools and to encourage their regular use at school.