HUMC surgeon remotely meets French president
By Mel Fabrikant Monday, October 29, 2007, 09:08 AM EDT
Garth Ballantyne, M.D.
As President Sarkozy entered IRCAD, Europe’s leading tele-surgery training center, everyone moved out of the way so Dr. Ballantyne could navigate through the crowd and greet the president without ever leaving his New Jersey office.
“Greetings from the New York area,” said Dr. Ballantyne. The president got his first look at the InTouch Health® 5-foot, 5-inch RP-7 Remote Presence Robot and Dr. Ballantyne, whose face was displayed on its 15-inch screen. Dr. Ballantyne was able to remotely participate in the president’s visit using a joystick from a computerized ControlStation. The robot has two-way cameras, microphones, and wireless technology.
The robot was one of the many innovations, robotics and new surgical technologies the president experienced. As demonstrated at IRCAD, the Remote Presence Robot allows physicians to be present remotely from anywhere in the world. Operating surgeons can literally be mentored from thousands of miles away.
To view President Nicolas Sarkozy’s “meeting” Dr. Ballantyne, please visit http://www.eits.fr/presentation/Visite_Sarkozy_2007/.
HealthGradesâ, recently named HUMC as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2007. This designation, which is new this year, recognizes hospitals that have demonstrated superior clinical quality over a seven-year time period, based upon an analysis of more than 75 million Medicare patient records from 1999-2005. These hospitals have achieved better survival rates and lower complication rates across dozens of medical procedures and diagnoses, from cardiac care to orthopedic surgery, consistently ranking among the top five percent in the nation for overall clinical outcomes. HUMC is the only healthcare facility in New Jersey, New York, and New England to be named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals.
To learn more about Hackensack University Medical Center, please visit www.humc.com.
