GlobalMedia has announced that it will introduce the TransportAV at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Las Vegas. The novel product, a portable medical consultation system that operates in real-time, is the latest technological communications solution for hospitals, rural clinics, physicians and nurses. “GlobalMedia is always striving to provide the best in technology advances for the medical community,” said Joel E. Barthelemy, managing director for GlobalMedia. “TransportAV is going to take ambulatory and emergency room care to the next level in healthcare.” Mounted on a stretcher, TransportAV allows for medical consultation from the field directly to the clinic or hospital where a patient is being transported. With the TransportAV, the remote doctor has the ability to control all aspects of the consult. The system features a military-grade touch-screen PC, a 3G Aircard, a controllable camera, echo canceling microphone, a ClearSteth Stethoscope, a TotalExam examination camera, and a Bluetooth wireless keyboard with headset for private conversations. All of this is designed into an adjustable, compact unit that can be mounted on a stretcher. TransportAV is the brainchild of Dr. Hamilton P. Schwartz, director of Emergency Services at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC). It evolved from a personal experience between him and his family wanting to communicate via web cams on laptops in the car. Dr. Schwartz and his wife, who also works at CCHMC, talked about ways to expand that concept to patient care. After months of research, they found GlobalMedia, whose designers and engineers brought Dr. Schwartz’s vision to life. “From my perspective, it is the only device of its kind on the market and will certainly help push health care technology forward,” said Dr. Schwartz. “As the first in the world to purchase the TransportAV, CCHMC will equip four ambulances with the equipment allowing us to significantly increase the level of patient care.” It operates for hours on a single battery charge and weighs approximately 30 lbs, (13Kg). All devices included with the TransportAV attach to most any stretcher; its built-in pneumatic lift allows for the unit to be high enough above the situation and can easily enter the transport vehicle without getting in the way while in its compact position. The unit also detaches from the stretcher and can be mounted to a mobile cart at the scene or in the trauma center allowing the EMTs to answer their next call. TransportAV affords a marked benefit to the patient because it allows a physician to extend their reach and to participate in the care of a patient in the back of an ambulance or at the incident scene without the physician physically being there. It is equal to having a physician or sub-physician at the patient’s bedside. This means a transport patient can have access to doctors with specific disciplines such as a preemie doctor or a respiratory specialist – even before arriving at the hospital. “TransportAV allows many additional benefits to organizations purchasing the equipment,” added Barthelemy. “If an emergency team is transporting a patient from a community hospital to a mega-hospital, the mega-hospital is prepared to give the appropriate level of care immediately upon arrival because a high level of care started early in the transport process. This is not only cost efficient and effective, but it will help save lives.” TransportAV is very user-friendly and GlobalMedia will customize the units to each hospital’s needs. An individual can be proficient in the ‘operation’ of the entire unit in as soon as 45 minutes. The learning curve is not very steep because the patient transport personnel have been talking to ER physicians over the phone for years but certainly not with the degree of sophistication and use of real-time TV-like images that TransportAV affords.