TELESYNERGY Connects Professionals

TELESYNERGY® http://telesynergy.nih.gov is a fully HIPAA-compliant video conferencing system to help medical professionals collaborate on cancer research and treatment regardless of the geographical location. The system’s multi-imaging capabilities integrate peripheral images into one system and can be viewed in near diagnostic quality.

The system is available to hospitals entering into partnerships or grantee agreements with NCI and today, there are over twenty institutions worldwide using the system. Twelve of the institutions were awarded a five year grant to help disparate communities, provide distance learning in cancer research, and help under-funded populations receive cancer care and treatment.

There are also many institutions in the United States and internationally who have funded their own TELESYNERGY systems for use in scientific partnerships with the National Cancer Institute.

With the success of the system, NCI made a simplified version of the system available for public purchase by outside institutions. Also, other NIH institutes are able to start their own TELESYNERGY-based partnerships and programs by working with the Center for Information Technology (CIT) a part of NIH.

TELESYNERGY has an interesting history. First, NCI developed a virtual integration initiative by forming strategic collaborations, consultation, and educational programs through off-site research that is known as the “Partnerships in Science” initiative.

This initiative is directed towards a seamless integration of cancer care and research, both nationally and internationally. The system offers the opportunity for researchers to communicate so this is where the TELESYNERGY Medical Consultation Workstation was initially needed and developed to enable others to communicate electronically.

The system is constantly adapting to new technologies and has incorporated the latest medical devices. New versions of the system have been developed to offer institutions different options in cost, size, and functionality. Additional applications of the system includes general cardiology, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, dermatology, mammography, and histopathology.

For information on how the TELESYNERGY system is available for licensing by an independent group or organization, email the NCI TELESYNERGY@Group. If NIH scientists and partner institutions are interested in using the system to support NIH research or interested in the CIT-Developed TELESYNERGY software, they should contact CIT’s TELESYNERGY@Group.