In this paper, Georgetown University Medical Center's (GUMC) experience with utilizing ATM technology in a telemedicine application will be presented. This application involves 3D radiation treatment planning where radiological imaging, calculation of the treatment plan, and 3D display all take place at different sites. To do this, GUMC must exchange large amounts of radiology images and data with other institutions in real time. A high speed network consisting of an ATM infrastructure and satellite links was created to connect seamlessly the three sites, GUMC, University of Hawaii, and Ohio Supercomputing Center, which are thousands of miles apart. This paper studies the performance of the ATM network between GUMC and Goddard Space Flight Center, which provides satellite service to link partners in this project. The steps required to test and evaluate the ATM system will be presented. A performance comparison between ATM and Internet-LAN connections will be featured in the presentation. In particular, the theoretical speed of 155 Mbps is hard to reach due to the lack of ATM-native protocols in the transport level of the communication structure.

Date Published: 22 May 1997
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 3035, Medical Imaging 1997: PACS Design and Evaluation: Engineering and Clinical Issues, (22 May 1997); doi: 10.1117/12.274558

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3035:
Medical Imaging 1997: PACS Design and Evaluation: Engineering and Clinical Issues
Steven C. Horii M.D.; G. James Blaine, Editor(s)