First Video Conference Beamed to Italy from New Denton A. Cooley Building

The room was hushed in anticipation at 11:30 a.m. on March 1, when the connection was made. Computer monitors flickered and, via Internet and satellite, a world-renowned medical face and voice were transported to an annual cardiovascular congress held in Alessandria, Italy. Dr. Denton A. Cooley, founder, president, and surgeon in chief of the Texas Heart Institute, set another milestone by delivering the first video conference from the new Telemedicine Conference Center in the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital – the Denton A. Cooley Building.

Dr. Cooley’s presentation, "Post-Infarction Ventricular Aneurysms," supported by PowerPoint slides, was broadcast to the 120 Italian cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons in attendance. In 1956, Dr. Cooley noted, he developed effective open-heart surgery techniques, but found that left-ventricular complications occurred in a number of patients. So he explored several means of repairing ventricular aneurysms and, applying his approach of modifying and simplifying procedures, finally determined that a fabric patch was the most practical and least expensive

"We have an extensive international physician network eager to exchange ideas with our world-renowned staff," said Warren Whitehead, St. Luke’s assistant vice president of international services, who, in cooperation with Italian representative Dr. Glauco Camporini, coordinated the teleconference event. "We feel part of our mission is to share our expertise with international physicians, and who better than Dr. Cooley to speak at this important event?"

The Telemedicine Conference Center contains the latest technology and is equipped to broadcast and receive transmissions worldwide via satellite and the Internet. The modern center is just one component of the ultimate in technology available in the new Cooley Building, which has the largest auditorium in the Texas Medical Center and telemedicine capabilities that can connect the auditorium, cardiac catheterization labs, and cardiovascular operating rooms to sites around the world. Last year, Dr. Camporini invited Dr. Cooley to visit Italy and speak in person. When Dr. Cooley’s schedule did not permit the trip, he decided to use technology to bridge the ocean.

A question-and-answer period followed Dr. Cooley’s presentation. Warmly received by his Italian audience, Dr. Cooley was invited to attend next year’s conference in Italy. Dr. Camporini reported that the conference was a big success and that the physicians present in Italy were honored to listen to the lecture from Houston’s pioneer in cardiovascular surgery.

"Facilities for this first teleconference from this building were impressive," said Dr. Cooley. "I look forward to further use of this technology and appreciate the efforts of the staff members from the Texas Heart Institute and St. Luke’s who participated."

"Now that the teleconference center is set up, more interactions such as these are as easy as making a phone call," said Whitehead. "We are enthusiastic about participating in teleconferences both around the world and around the block."

More information about teleconferencing capabilities and other services at St. Luke’s can be found at http://www.stlukestexas.com or http://www.texasheartinstitute.org.

– St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital Corporate Communications Office

---

©2006 Texas Medical Center

---

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/04_01_02/page_06.html