DIGITAL VIDEO TRANSPORT SYSTEM (DVTS) IN SURGICAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The rapid advances in the field of medicine have made traditional means of disseminating surgical education and training, inefficient and nearly obsolete. Technological advances since the 20th century has resulted in significant improvement in the fields of communication, computer, and electronics. The ability to transmit real-time uncompressed audio and video over a broadband internet connection using the Digital Video Transport System (DVTS) promises a means to augment medical education and training to large groups of people at multiple remote locations worldwide, simultaneously. We report on our experience with the use of DVTS in our various educational and training events since we started using the system in 2007.

Information technology has blossomed in the 21st century in that a myriad of information can be transmitted and used in various field of broadcasting, telecommunications, networking and computer technologies. It has gained interest in the field of medicine specifically in surgery wherein technology has caught up with the traditions of surgery. Digital video transport system (DVTS) is a simple and relatively inexpensive method of transmitting high quality audio and video over the internet. It brings internet video production within reach for a broad range of organizations. It involves packetizing, multiplexing, synchronizing and extracting video signals. The digital revolution has provided this novel way of transporting video.(1) Since the advent of endoscopic surgery, it has become essential to have endo-laparoscopic procedures recorded for the primary purpose of learning and teaching. The explosion of endoscopic surgery has forced the need for training surgeons at a grand scale. Sophisticated video streaming techniques and significant improvements in both bandwidth and networking architecture has facilitated the development of an effective real-time high definition interaction between surgical teams which may be physically located in remote sites.(2) Endoscopic surgery has been suited for this form of delivery since it uses high definition imaging and remote manipulation rather than direct hand-eye coordination to achieve its ends.(3) Using DVTS in surgical education and training can be achieved through interactive activities such as lectures, teleconferences, and workshops between remote locations worldwide. We report our experience and feedbacks received on using the DVTS for our different educational activities across the globe since 2007 when we started to utilize this technology.