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CI students witness open-heart surgery via Internet2

Posted Online: 5/28/03

Students from Cambridge-Isanti and Osseo high schools witnessed live open-heart surgery and interacted with the heart surgeon and his team via an Internet2 teleconference originating at TIES May 16.

The students asked questions of Dr. Arun Singh and a team of nine as they performed the operation as part of a spotlight video-conference during the American Hospital Association Workforce Development Symposium. The patient was a 60-year-old man with a calcified heart valve that had to be replaced.

As he and his team worked, Dr. Singh described the flow of blood through the heart and how a damaged valve can make the heart work too hard and create shortness of breath and chest pain. He also talked with the students about his 31-year career as a surgeon and the growing need for physician's assistants. The staff told students about their various responsibilities on the surgical team.

"This was a phenomenal experience for the students," said Stephanie Windschill, health occupations teacher at Cambridge-Isanti High School. Fourteen of her students took part in the virtual surgery teleconference. "Most are going into health fields, so seeing the surgical staff and hearing from them about how vital their jobs are was really valuable."

The next generation of the Internet, Internet2 is an ultra-high-speed network that gives access to a new realm of clear, virtual digital experiences. The only K-12 Internet2 demonstration site in Minnesota, TIES has partnered with the University of Minnesota to explore applications for this new and powerful medium.

"With Internet2, these students got to be right in the operating room, an experience very few people ever have," said Kathy Kraemer, TIES Internet2 coordinator. "Internet2 is opening doors for students to an entire world of mind-expanding experiences and people."

TIES was designated as the Sponsored Education Group Participant for April by the national Internet2 consortium. As part of this designation, TIES Internet2 activities are featured on the Internet2 web site at http://k20.inter net2.edu/segp/featured-archive/mn-learning-network. html.

TIES, a cooperative of 36 school districts, has been connecting education and technology for 35 years through training, curriculum software, support services, consulting, and research and development. TIES was selected for the July 3, 2002, "Summerall Success Stories" featured on Fox cable news network and promoted in the July 22, 2002, Forbes magazine.