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18-19 March, 2008

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PRESS RELEASE
January 23, 2008

Telepresence World 2008 to Demonstrate Telepresence as a Vital Tool in Health Care
Continuity of care, remote diagnosis, continuing education and many other key topics to be considered


London, UK: Wednesday 23rd January, 2008 – Medical telepresence, which makes use of advanced communication technologies such as highspeed networks, high definition video and audio, and large, high resolution displays to produce realistic, interactive experiences, has great potential as a medical tool for remote diagnosis, training and surgery. Telepresence can also save physicians and medical administrators precious time and money by reducing the need for travel. The result: doctors are able to see more patients, provide better health care, and perform more research while, at the same time, supporting the all-important “bottom line.”

Attendees of Telepresence World 2008 London, which will take place 18th – 19th March at the internationally acclaimed ExCel Exhibition and Conference Centre located in London, will learn how telepresence is helping to shape healthcare programs of the future and will provide a unique opportunity to experience telepresence technology via live demonstrations provided by the world’s top telepresence providers, including Diamond Sponsors Teliris, Cisco, and Hewlett Packard.

Many medical facilities, such as the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ, and the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, AZ, already use telepresence for training and research. Attendees to the inaugural Telepresence World 2007 Conference in San Diego, CA, were treated to a demonstration of a remote robotic physician capable of interacting with patients and performing diagnostic tests.

Medical telepresence offers many unique benefits to hospitals, administrators, physicians, and their patients:

• Enhanced Continuity of Care: Telepresence allows physicians access to their patients anywhere in the world. If a patient travels or moves, they can still receive care from a physician that is familiar with their medical history. Patients who travel to see specialists for consultation and surgery can receive post-operative checkups from their surgeon after they return home for convalescence.

• Optimised Medical Education: Telepresence is already allowing medical students from around the world to witness operations by leading surgeons as part of their training, saving time and exposing them to unique and rare surgeries that they might never get to see otherwise. Large, high-definition screens in theatre-like settings offer students unprecedented views of delicate procedures and even incorporate data streams directly from medical equipment into the display, so cause-and-effect scenarios can be explored.

• Expedited Triage and Diagnosis: Telepresence allows medical facilities to take advantage of time zones to consult with specialists who are on duty. The right specialist is not always available in the middle of the night and a telepresence interface for examination or diagnostic purposes can allow a qualified physician in Europe to evaluate x-ray or MRI tests generated in a California emergency room at 2 AM.

• Improved Collaboration on Patient Care and Research: Physicians who practice at different medical facilities across the country or globe can use telepresence to confer and collaborate about patient care or ongoing studies on a face-to-face basis.

According to Mark Barounos, President of conference organisers Hemisphere Expo Services, on the use of telepresence technology: “Medical telepresence will revolutionise the healthcare industry in the next few years by raising the standard of patient care, service and training, and by creating access to healthcare where none existed before. Basic science will also benefit from this technology—telepresence’s ability to create virtual collaboratories to incubate and cultivate ideas will have a tremendous impact on research and development.”

Diamond Sponsors of Telepresence World 2008 London include Teliris, Cisco, and Hewlett-Packard. BT has joined as a Gold Sponsor and Network Sponsorship will be provided by Masergy Communications. The Interactive Media & Collaborative Communications Alliance (IMCCA) and the European Association of Healthcare IT Managers are Strategic Alliance partners. Organisational Supporters include the International Society of Presence Research (ISPR), Digital Content Forum (DCF), the Communications Management Association (CMA), the British Computer Society (BCS), and the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE). Audio Visual (AV) Magazine, AV News, Connect World, CXO, Education Business, European CEO, Government Technology, Health Business, Healthcare IT, New Media Age, Report Buyer, Total Telecom, and Videoconferencing Insight Newsletter are among a growing listing of Media Sponsors who have signed on to promote the event. Telepresence World 2008 London is presented in association with Frost & Sullivan and is a CarbonNeutral event.

Additional major sponsor announcements will be released in the next few weeks, however partner and exhibitor opportunities are still available; please email info@hemisphereinc.com for details.

For more information on Telepresence World events, see www.telepresenceworld.com. To view “Telepresence in Action,” please visit www.telepresencetv.com. To find out more about telepresence, read the latest news, and participate in the global dialogue surrounding this fantastic technology, please join us at www.telepresenceworld.net.


About Hemisphere Expo Services, Inc.

Established in 1990, The Hemisphere Group has produced events throughout Asia, India, and the Americas. Their events portfolio includes conferences, seminars, and tradeshows on topics ranging from aerospace to finance. Known today as Hemisphere Expo Services, Inc., they provide expertise in the production and management of events relating to high-technology advancements. (www.HemisphereInc.com).