Cisco's Tandberg Solution Connects Valaam Monastery with Mainland Russia

By Vinti Vaid, TMCnet Contributor

Cisco has announced that Valaam Monastery has selected their Cisco (News - Alert) Tandberg Edge 85 MXP high-definition video conferencing system. The Tandberg Edge 85 MXP high-definition video conferencing system will be installed in the monastery's recently opened telemedicine centre.

The Tandberg (News - Alert) solution, which is delivered via high-quality video will connect the remote monastery with mainland hospitals making it easy for local practitioners to seek the counsel of Russian and international experts. Valaam Monastery is located on Valaam Island in Russian Karelia.

With more than 110,000 visitors every year, the new centre has been developed to provide teleconsultations for pilgrims and tourists as well as monks and other local patients.

The Cisco Tandberg Edge 85 MXP system has a codec, a microphone, and a PrecisionHD camera.

The success of the Tandberg has paved the way for further installations with specialists looking to expand links with the nearby clinics of Karelia, as well as with hospitals in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other Russian cities.

Plans for the future include the setting up a mobile telemedicine centre at Valaam which will offer medical care in remote areas.

 The mobile centre is based on a compact portable Cisco Tandberg Tactical system with a set of medical devices and a portable antenna.

Valery Leonidovich Stolyar, executive secretary of the Russian Telemedicine Association, project participant stated that telemedicine has made it easy for a general practitioner to get consultations from specialists located in leading medical centres. He added that they were now capable of providing the monastery, the people of Valaam, and pilgrims and tourists, with the best Russian and international specialists especially during the time when Valaam is cut off from the mainland and is susceptible to being hit by diseases.

Stein Ramsli, head of Cisco TelePresence Technology Group in Russia and CIS explained that the Tandberg solution is a reliable tool for high-quality video conferencing and can connect more than 120 clinics, hospitals, and medical centres that use video communications to improve medical care in Russia and other CIS countries. He added that they were hopeful that their evolving technologies will aid similar projects and by bringing medical services to residents of Russia's remote areas.

(source: http://unified-communications.tmcnet.com/topics/unified-communications/articles/100349-ciscos-tandberg-solution-connects-valaam-monastery-with-mainland.htm)