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updated: January 6, 2009
Edward Diethrich unveils $1M mobile studio
Phoenix Business Journal - by Angela Gonzales
Dr. Edward Diethrich, founder and medical director of the Arizona Heart Institute and Arizona Heart Hospital, is taking his education program high tech — and on the road.
Diethrich, who performed the first live open-heart surgery for the Public Broadcasting Network in 1983, has custom built a $1 million high-definition satellite uplink production vehicle to share his life-saving techniques with other surgeons.
Called High Definition MD, the mobile unit uses a 1080i signal to broadcast new procedures and techniques to medical conferences around the world.
In today’s surgical suite, medical imaging is critical for the surgeon as they perform operations, Diethrich said. These high resolution medical images now can be seen in their native resolution by conference attendees, allowing them to appreciate and better understand the procedures, he said.
Robotic cameras also are used in the operating room during procedures to show exactly what the surgeon is doing, said Chris Wooley, managing producer for VAS Communications, a separate company co-owned by Diethrich.
"The new robotic cameras and fiber optic technology really cut down on the amount of production equipment required for a good broadcast, and also allows us to maximize our high-definition capabilities and send out a clear, sharp high definition signal," Wooley said.
The vehicle has traveled to Washington, D.C.; Texas, Louisiana and Kansas to produce medical telecasts. It also has been used by local stations in Arizona and CNN for breaking news, he said.
"Most of the local stations’ studios have gone HD, but not necessarily their remote production vans," Wooley said.
He also is reaching out to other organizations, including spring training teams that could potentially broadcast their games back home, he said.
"In most cases, they’re bringing in trucks from California or Las Vegas," Wooley said. "There are a couple of good trucks in town. Hopefully, we would like to break into that business as well."
Established in 1978, VAS Communications is a full-service multimedia production company. It also provides marketing, video production, video editing and medical illustration services.
For more: www.vascommunications.com .
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