Microscope to Broadcast Images over the Internet

Researchers are developing the technology needed to create a virtual microscope that can broadcast real-time images over the Internet.

Although images can now be transmitted over the Internet, they cannot be transmitted in streaming video formats with the high resolution necessary for medical applications, according to Front Porch Digital, Inc. (Cherry Hill, NJ, USA). The company is developing the new technology, along with Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ, USA) and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (also in New Brunswick). The Center for Biomedical Imaging & Informatics at Robert Wood Johnson has already built a prototype for the tele-robotic microscope.

Front Port Digital specializes in large-scale, offline conversion and migration of information stored on aging media or obsolete systems to easily accessible digital formats. The company has developed software-based technology that ingests video and audio content in a single capture and converts it into a standards-based digital format, which can then be streamed real-time via MPEG and other formats. This approach significantly reduces the time and cost of content capture, conversion, and distribution.

"Variations of the technology eventually will be applied to other medical imaging applications such as remote medical consultation and smart operation theaters, where medical experts from multiple locations may analyze, consult, and guide diagnosis and surgery via real time streaming video from a clinic or hospital,” said Saeed Karim, president and CEO of Front Porch Digital. He also noted that the virtual microscope will make it less expensive to train medical students worldwide, who will be able to view operations at other locations in real-time via the Internet.





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Front Porch Digital
Rutgers Univ.