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Pure Digital Fiberlink® Brings Critical Medical Resources to Underserved Countries

Pure Digital Fiberlink Systems Bring Critical Medical Resources to Underserved Countries Medical Missions for Children (MMC) installs Pure Digital Fiberlink® products for use with its Global Telemedicine & Teaching Network™ (GTTN) platform

Medical Missions for Children (MMC) in Paterson, New Jersey, is dedicated to meeting the medical needs of catastrophically ill children. Through the backbone of its organization, the Global Telemedicine & Teaching Network™ (GTTN) - a state-of-the-art communications platform, MMC brings critical resources to underserved countries around the world. The GTTN provides access to cutting-edge research, new treatment protocols, and diagnostic techniques and a platform for real-time diagnostics, as well as serving as a medium for dialogue exchange for a network of pediatric specialists. The network operates solely through the efforts of volunteer healthcare providers.

Stuart Pepose, Manager of Media Services at MMC is Administrator of the Telemedicine Outreach Program (TOP). Pepose starts the day with surgical meetings for the residents via videoconferencing between St. Joseph’s Regional Health System in Paterson, NJ and St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, NJ. Technical coverage for morning reports at St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Internal Medicine Department is also conducted using the same system. Throughout the day, the videoconferencing technology is constantly tested, a vital procedure, as a medical consult could arise at any time of the day or night from over 100 countries.

The videoconferencing equipment is not only used for the TOP, but also for the Giggles Theater – a hospital-based program designed to offer the patients the opportunity to participate in various activities through interactive video conferencing technology. In addition to performing arts activities, the children and their families are able to virtually visit such places as the Cincinnati Zoo, NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The Giggles Theater is located in an adjacent building from the Network Operations Center (NOC) with only 4 multimode fibers interconnecting the two facilities.

During a recent system upgrade, MMC was looking for a system that would transmit high quality analog composite video and audio signals, work with the existing infrastructure, plus have the potential for future growth and be a plug and play solution. Working with a trusted vendor, the decision was made to completely replace the existing fiber optic transmitters and receivers with products from Communications Specialties, Inc. (CSI).

“We decided on the Pure Digital Fiberlink® 7400 Series for four channels of composite video with two-way data and the Pure Digital Fiberlink® 4160 Series for sixteen audio channels,” explains Pepose. “Not only did CSI’s products meet our system requirements, but they were about one-third the cost of the existing company’s products. The clincher was that the more expensive technology had limited options for our future growth requirements, whereas the Pure Digital Fiberlink system met both our current and future needs.

“The existing fiber transmitter and receiver required 1 strand of fiber for each of our two cameras and allowed only a mono audio signal from each of the strands of fiber. The control of the cameras required an additional 2 strands of fiber for control of the cameras. The 7400 Series allowed us to save 2 strands of fiber for future growth. The video transmitter/receiver provides connectivity of 4 inputs and pan/tilt control over only one fiber. We are sending the original 2 camera feeds, a third camera feed and a scan converter feed from the computer in the podium. The amazing thing about these units is that they also provide control of the cameras through the same single fiber connection. “One of the best features of the system is the visual reinforcement of the signals being available at the production console. Using the 4160 Series, we are now able to control 10 channels of audio, with an additional 6 controllable channels available over only one fiber connection.”

The audio system utilizes Mackie Onyx mic preamps in the Giggles Theater to process 6 Crown PXM-10 boundry microphones, 1 Sennheiser ME-66KP and 1 ME-67KP shotgun microphone, and two Countryman Stage microphones before sending them to the CSI 4160 fiber optic audio transmitter. This provides the technical staff control over mic levels before sending them to the production system in the NOC. Once in the NOC, the 4161 receiver outputs it’s 16 channels of audio to a Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro mixer.

The cameras in the Giggles Theater are Sony DXC-990 with YH19x6.7KTS lenses on pan/tilt mounts. They are controlled using a CP-D-3A controller in the NOC. The computer system in the theater is used for presentations and uses a Scan Do Select scan converter to provide the video output to a 7410 fiber optic transmitter. The 7411 video receiver is located in the NOC and connected to a special effects generator where the production team can select any of the video inputs. The master outputs from the SEG and 1604 are then sent to a Polycom video conferencing system and a VBrick streaming codec to the remote locations. A DVD/MiniDV/HD recording system are also in the loop for archival of all programs.

“The system was a real pleasure to configure - it was plug and play and we didn’t experience a single glitch along the way. And it has performed above and beyond my expectations. With two strands of fiber available and ready to support additional requirements down the road, we know that the new system will be able to stand the test of time, and give us peace of mind, knowing that the video and audio we transmit around the world will be consistent and of the highest quality possible. And you just can’t put a price on that.”

The Pure Digital Fiberlink® 4160 Series supports 16 audio channels, using all digital processing techniques to transmit over single mode or multimode fiber. An optional optical redundancy feature allows for continuous operation should a fault occur. The system provides the high quality audio that audio and broadcast professionals require, and features 20 Hz - 20 kHz bandwidth, a 24-bit sampling rate of 96 kHz and a maximum audio level of +24 dBu. It is compatible with all analog line level audio sources and operate over a wide temperature range using 95-250 volt AC power.

The Pure Digital Fiberlink® 7400 Series supports four channels of uncompressed, composite video with two-way data over one fiber. With 7 MHz video bandwidth per channel, the system supports all standard video formats and duplex or simplex PTZ systems, and is ideal for installations featuring clustered cameras requiring PTZ control. Data protocol can be different or the same on the transmitting and receiving ends. The data channel is fully compatible with EIA standard RS-232 (CCITT V.24), RS-232 (CCITT X.27) or RS-485 (2 wire/4 wire), as configured by the user. The all-digital system guarantees no crosstalk or drifting, and provides uniform performance of all video channels over the entire transmission path.

 
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