VISTAnet and MICA: medical applications leading to the NCIH

Medical applications employing an ATM network have been under development with the VISTAnet and Medical Information Communication Application (MICA) trials in North Carolina. The extraordinary switching and transport capabilities of ATM networks represent an enabling technology for many health care applications. VISTAnet and MICA have provided early experience with the networks to support such applications. The NCIH will provide a public ATM platform to expand such efforts throughout North Carolina, and will ultimately provide universal access to a myriad of public information services. VISTAnet has enabled studies in high-speed computation and networking, along with real-time multidimensional imaging. As a result, a new dynamic radiation therapy planning process has been developed that promises to advance the state of the art for radiation treatment. This articles describes the early medical prototype applications of VISTAnet and MICA, and discusses some of the emerging medical applications to be implemented in the NCIH, based on the information learned in the VISTAnet and MICA trials.<>