Training doctors in minimally invasive surgery across Asia

The surgeons at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Korea, are pioneers in minimally invasive surgery. This technique helps patients recover faster and leaves a much smaller scar than traditional techniques.

Through live streaming of operations Prof. He-Seong Han and his staff have been able to train hundreds of surgeons across Asia, without need or cost for them to travel to Korea.

Virtual surgical training

The training is part of the activities of the Medical Tele-Collaboration between KOREN members of the TEIN high-speed research and education network. TEIN links 19 countries in the region and supports Digital Video Transport System technology at speeds of 30 Mbps as well as creating a human network of doctors and physicians who learn from each other.

According to Prof. He-Seong Han, without the existence of a pervasive, stable and high capacity network such as TEIN, telemedicine and consequent improved patient care would not be possible.

Expanding benefits

The network has widened the benefits of minimally invasive surgery, bringing it to a much larger population and undoubtedly helping to save lives.

Due to the success of this remote medical training knowledge is being transferred across the region, particularly to less developed countries.

Dr. Ho says, “Being involved with telemedicine has brought great benefits to myself and to the medical community. It allows the sharing of medical experience through high-quality video teleconferences without the need for us to travel far abroad, enriching our skills to benefit our local patients.”