Immersive Medical Telepresence 2008
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Date TBD

The Call for Proposals is now open for Immersive Telepresence 2008, hosted by Internet2 and the Office of Enabling Technologies at the University of Michigan Medical School. This workshop is intended for clinicians and faculty using or planning to implement high quality immersive systems in their clinical, educational, and research activities, the audiovisual and information and communications technology staff supporting such systems, and vendors offering products in this space. Included will be such technologies as high definition video (streaming and real-time videoconferencing), simulation environments (from mannequin-based to virtual worlds), and scientific visualization.

By attending this workshop, attendees will:

  • Understand and be able to apply best practices in the use of immersive technologies in medical education, clinical care, and biomedical research
  • Be able to assess the software and hardware technologies that are available to meet their application requirements
  • Establish or extend a network of colleagues involved in immersive medical telepresence

Contacts:
Mike McGill, Internet2 mmcgill@internet2.edu
Ted Hanss, University of Michigan ted@umich.edu

Proposals:
To submit proposals for presentations, poster presentations, or pre-conference hands-on workshops, click here.

Format
The proposed format is a day and a half single track program, running Wednesday morning through Thursday at noon, framed around case studies that would engage both faculty and technical staff. The goal is to have the presentations be accessible to both technical and user communities.

A day-long hands-on workshop on building immersive medical telepresence environments on Tuesday would precede the main event. Optional tours might occur on Monday, Tuesday, and/or Thursday afternoon.

  • Monday (day) set up demos and hands-on workshop
  • Monday (evening) pre-workshop reception
  • Tuesday (day) hands-on workshop
  • Tuesday (evening) pre-conference reception
  • Wednesday (day) conference
  • Wednesday (evening) reception and/or dinner
  • Thursday (until noon) conference

Location
The workshop will take place in Palmer Commons, a conference center adjacent to both the Medical Campus and Central Campus. We have reserved the 140 seat auditorium (power at each seat) plus the 3200 square foot Great Lakes Room, which can be divided into three sections.

Air Travel
Detroit Metro Airport is approximately 25 miles from the meeting location. Taxis, shared shuttles, and rental cars are the primary transportation options. There are no public bus or train services between Ann Arbor and the airport. Allow 30-40 minutes of driving time between the airport and meeting location if going by taxi. Taxis are approximately $45 plus tip. Shuttles are about half that cost, but require advanced scheduling and more time must be allowed for the trip.

Parking
190 visitor parking spots are available in the structure next door to Palmer Commons. These spots, which cannot be reserved in advance, cost $1.10/hour (as of July 2007).

Hotels
The Campus Inn (208 rooms), Bell Tower Hotel (66 rooms), Inn at the League (21 rooms), and at least one bed and breakfast are within walking distance of Palmer Commons. On the periphery of town (2-3 miles away) are a large number of hotels, many of which offer free shuttle service to campus. A list is available from the U-M Information Center.

Community Building
Workshop organizers will create a web site that engages the community before and after the workshop through a discussion forum, action item wiki, etc.

Continuing Medical Education
Workshop organizers are exploring getting CME credit for physicians who attend the meeting.

Program Committee

  • Arnold Advincula, M.D., University of Michigan
  • Thomas Belda, BA, RRT, Mayo Clinic
  • Jose Conde, MD, University of Puerto Rico
  • Jeremy Cooperstock, PhD, McGill University
  • LeRoy Heinrichs, MD, Stanford University
  • Howard S. Lichtman, Human Productivity Lab
  • Shuji Shimizu, MD, PhD, Kyushu University
  • Jonathan Silverstein, MD, University of Chicago

Organizing Committee
The organizing committee will work on the logistics of the workshop, facilitate the program committee's construction of the main workshop agenda, and organize the hands-on workshop. Organizing committee members are Marshall Eubanks (Iformata Communications), Craig Locatis (National Library of Medicine), Chris Hodge (University of Tennessee), Ted Hanss (University of Michigan), and Michael McGill (Internet2). Additional volunteers are more than welcome and should contact Michael McGill or Ted Hanss.

spectrum