From operating theatre to operating studio--visualizing surgery in the age of telemedicine

We have conducted a telemedicine project between two of Norway's largest hospitals (Rikshospitalet and Ullevål Hospital) with a focus on image-guided surgical and radiological procedures. Video was broadcast using a 34 Mbit/s ATM network. This resulted in changes in the local work practice to accommodate and facilitate the communication. It also required changes to the surgeon's tasks to improve communication with remote viewers. These changes were not trivial and can be viewed as signs of a shift towards a more public kind of surgery and interventional radiology, brought about by new technology.