THE AMES NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AstrogramANDAstrogram SPACE ADMINISTRATION AMES RESEARCH CENTER, MOFFETT FIELD September 18, 1998 on-line@http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/dx/ The Doctor is IN! Ames and Salinas Valley pioneer 'virtual hospital' The days of the "house call" are defi- to join forces in this ambitious project? nitely over for most Americans. And few Clearly, the two organizations recognize can deny that technological innovation and their respective strengths and needs, and the pace of modern life have been major hope to prove the power and synergy that contributors to the downfall of this institu- comes of a world-class research labora- tion that many of our parents once took for tory working hand-in-hand with a world- granted. But who is to say that technology class healthcare provider on a problem of can't also come to the rescue, that things mutual interest and concern. can't come full circle? Recent develop- Ames is NASA's Center of Excellence ments lend credence to this view. photos courtesy of Bob Smith and SVMHS Evidence the fact that, on Sept. 9, Ames Research Center and the Salinas Valley Bob Smith shows the audience examples of medical Memorial Healthcare System (SVMHS) imagery available via the “virtual hospital” while signed a Space Act agreement to partner in Salinas Valley Medical Healthcare System (SVMHS) the implementation of state-of-the-art in- CEO Sam Downing and Ames’ Deputy Director formation technologies to develop a 'vir- William Berry look on. tual hospital' by January 1999. And what, you may well ask, is a virtual hospital? In simple terms, it is defined as a healthcare 'facility' without walls, but with the technology and capability to transmit, receive and manipulate three-dimensional, The Space Shuttle makes a perfect high-fidelity, high-resolution images in near- landing at SVMHS! real time. Under terms of the recently signed ac- cord, Ames will utilize its expertise in for Information Technology. As such, bioinformatics and high-speed, high-band- Ames is a major contributor to re- width networks to establish a workstation search on the Next-Generation at Salinas Valley capable of rapidly trans- Internet, and is developing IT solu- Spanish-speaking television network mitting data and receiving 3-D images of tions for incorporation into all NASA Telemundo interview SVMHS’ Sam Downing the human body. programs in pursuit of NASA Admin- and Ames’ William Berry. This emerging next generation of istrator Dan Goldin's vision of "faster, telemedicine seeks to combine the sophis- better, cheaper" and the consequent largely inaccessible parts of Alaska and for ticated techniques of modern medical im- order-of-magnitude forward technology using it in a cooperative demonstration aging with the latest developments in 'Next- leaps. Ames also has a growing expertise in project with the Navajo Nation are under Generation Internet'-type technologies. It biocomputation and bioinformatics, largely preliminary consideration. promises to revolutionize modern as a result of the pioneering work of Dr. This is the first Space Act agreement of healthcare and, in the process, may require Muriel Ross and her Ames team in these its kind between a NASA field center and a development of a whole new way of look- emerging fields. community hospital. However, it is typical ing at the doctor-patient interface. Salinas Valley, while enjoying a rural of the new NASA way of doing business. The virtual hospital project will give setting, is a high-technology healthcare And it is reflective of ever-increasing agency doctors at Salinas Valley, and potentially institution with a specialty in heart and efforts to commercialize aerospace tech- those at other, geographically dispersed oncology surgeries. Indeed, statistics pro- nologies while reaching out to local com- locations, the capability to share true-fidel- vided by SVMHS demonstrate that they are munities in the conduct of collaborative ity patient data (like X-rays, MRIs, and other comparable to UCLA, Stanford and other research and programs of mutual benefit. 3-D images and data sets) on line. In this leading national medical facilities in terms way, this new generation of 'cyber sur- of the number of heart catheterizations, BY DAVID MORSE geons' will, in effect, be able to make house angioplasties and bypass surgeries con- calls on patients’ miles -- or even continents ducted on an annual basis. -- away. They will also be able to collabo- William Berry, Ames' Deputy Director, see rate with their colleagues around the cor- and Salinas Valley Chief Executive Officer, related ner or around the world, both in the areas Sam Downing, signed the agreement on of consultation and diagnosis and in the behalf of their respective organizations. It story performance of actual, although 'virtual,' is anticipated that, once the virtual hospi- on surgeries. In the process, they can provide tal concept has been demonstrated, Ames page 6 crucial feedback to Ames engineers and and SVMHS will work with Stanford and 8 Months to researchers regarding image quality and the Cleveland Clinic to explore the possibil- Certification network efficiency in real-world, high-risk/ ity of implementing the resulting technol- high-payoff situations. ogy in remote areas around the world. Ames ISO Web-site address: Why did Ames and Salinas Valley decide Plans for 'transporting' the technology to http://dqa.arc.nasa.gov/iso9000 Sept 18, 1998 Communication for the information technologyThe age Ames Astrogram — 1 Ames Activities National Pollution Prevention (P2) week is scheduled for September 21 to 27 National Pollution Prevention Week ’98, tional Pollution Prevention week is coming 2. Tips on ways to help protect our September 21 through 27, will be celebrated up, plan to get involved! The Ames Environ- ocean and bay by cleaning up local creeks. across the country to highlight the impor- mental Services Office, Code QE, will be The phone number is: (408) 265-2607 tant role pollution prevention plays in pro- sponsoring an informational booth in the ext.2049. The web site URL is: http:// tecting both our environmental and eco- Ames Cafe between 11:30 am and 1 p.m. www.ci.sunnyvale.ca.us/events/cleanup- nomic resources. Pollution prevention tar- each day during this week. Flyers and 0898.htm) gets the source of pollution, before it is posters will be available, highlighting the 3. Activities calendars are, available created, and can be accomplished by rede- ways in which we can all reduce and elimi- from the Santa Clara County Pollution Pre- signing processes, using less toxic chemical nate pollution both at home and at work. vention Program. The phone number is: inputs, and improving general operating For more information about pollution 408) 441-1195. The email address is: practices. Pollution prevention benefits the prevention initiatives at Ames, contact the [email protected]. entire community by increasing industrial Ames Pollution Prevention coordinator, Jill P2 projects actually improve quality, efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing Moudy, at ext. 4-3531. Additional pollu- reduce production time, ease compliance, environmental quality. tion prevention resources are available and save money. Whether the steps you’re At home, residents can help prevent through Santa Clara County. These re- ready to take are large or small doesn’t pollution by using protective practices and sources include: matter -- just make a commitment to P2 safer products for cleaning, maintenance 1. A guide to local reuse opportunities, and get started. and gardening activities. available from the County Recycling Pro- National Pollution Prevention (P2) week gram. The hotline phone number is: 1-800- is a perfect time to renew ones commit- 533-8414. The Web site URL is: http:// ment to pollution prevention. Since Na- secondhand.com/~rtnc/resale/second/ Intranet Web site: ARCWeb Ultimate frisbee at Ames Ultimate frisbee is an exciting, coed, others' foul calls and to resolve any dis- introduced non-contact, team sport using a flying puted calls without argument. This tra- disc, or frisbee. The emphasis is not on dition of sportsmanship is upheld, even The Applied Information Technology winning or losing a game, but rather on at the World Championship level. Division (Code JT) introduces the Ames having a good time, meeting new people, Ultimate frisbee is played at Ames Intranet. This special web site, called and getting exercise. The object of the year-round, every Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ARCWeb, serves as a central access point to game is to advance the disc up the field by at Orion Park, (outside the main gate, most of the important Ames links for busi- throwing it to teammates, while the other across from the Visitor Center.) New ness services, research tools, computer tools, team tries to block or intercept the passes. players of any level are always welcome. licensed software, employee information, Players cannot run with the disc, and a Come on out and give Ultimate a try! training, and much more. Almost 200 local point is scored when a catch is made in Ames web sites have been collected for the the end zone. Teams generally have ARCWeb links. seven players on a side but the game can ARCWeb is accessible by using your web be played with less. Since Ultimate browser and pointing to: http:// frisbee is a new sport to many arcweb.arc.nasa.gov. people, it is common practice at It's an excellent starting point for you to NASA Ultimate to briefly interrupt find the information you need to do your play to help someone understand work. You can learn about current Center the rules. events, the Ames organization, Center Perhaps the most unusual and projects, information from the Center Di- wonderful aspects of Ultimate is rector, archived Centerwide e-mail, and something called "Spirit of the work place changes that affect you.