81
empower them. Our MDT room is the culmination of everything
we've learnt.”
AV Anatomy Lesson
There were some key learnings that provided a framework for the
MDT room's AV:
Ÿ Although there may be between 10 and 20 doctors and
specialists contributing to most MDT meetings, the space
needed to cater to up to 40 people — mostly observers, such
as students, but also additional contributors in the instance of
complex cases.
Ÿ The space needed to be entirely 'democratic' — everyone
around the table must feel they have an equal voice.
Ÿ The MDT room needed to function as a VC space to enable
clinicians to participate remotely.
Ÿ Multiple sources of content needed to be displayed
simultaneously (and in a variety of congurations) on the big
screen.
Ÿ All the audio and video needed to be on the network.
Barbara MacKenzie comments, “My view has always been: if it's
not IP-based — if it's not delivered across Ethernet — then it
doesn't belong. That's a pretty challenging approach to take,
especially a few years ago when we rst mandated this.”
“Barbara's always maintained she wanted an 'enterprise solution'.
She wanted to standardise and she doesn't have an AV team or an
IT team, she has one team that runs the whole facility,” added
Roneel Singh.
Understanding the challenge, Roneel immediately looked at an
SVSI by AMX video-over-IP system.
“I absolutely love the SVSI solution. This is the rst time we've
used a product like this that's distributed across the network. For
example, our Simulation Learning Centre uses a card and frame-
based video matrix solution, and it is so inexible. Utilising a
virtualised product instead of hardware-based appliances ts in
well with our approach to technology. And SVSI is a mature
solution,” said a delighted Barbara.
Roneel highlights, “The solution had to sit on the enterprise
network and take full HD video with very low latency. SVSI had a
product that was tested, proven and we'd used it on a number of
other jobs in a similar application, so we were condent in
recommending it to the client.
It also meant we were able to do without a large frame-based
solution and put the SVSI system into a compact communications
room. What's more, the expansion of the system is relatively easy
— in effect, Barbara doesn't need us back for that.”
Networked Audio
A networked, and scalable video-over-IP solution needs an audio
solution to match. There are plenty of Dante-based audio
conferencing solutions on the market but Barbara and Roneel's
consultations suggested on-table gooseneck microphones (or
similar) wouldn't cut it.Barbara shares, “I didn't want a 'mics on tables' solution because it
needed to feel more conversational. In my view, desktop mics
foster a 'one person on the mic at a time' style of formality that
wasn't appropriate. When the Shure MXA910 ceiling array
microphone popped up we were really keen to know more.”Roneel adds, “We'd normally advise against ceiling mics given the
room has an open ceiling and the mic will need to share the
ceiling space with the noise of large projectors — regular pendant
ceiling mics would sound quite harsh in a space like this.”“But equally, we knew we needed a broad uniform coverage.
Some of the clinicians are very softly spoken — you can't hear
them across the 4m diameter of the horseshoe seating — so
sound reinforcement was essential.
The traditional approach of a series of mix minuses would have
been quite cumbersome.”Barbara further adds, “Desk microphones also change behaviour.
Some people lean right in close to talk into the mic. Some lean
way back and mumble. The goal was to provide a more natural
experience, where the technology is working for you even if you
don't notice it working for you. That's my approach to the ideal
user experience across the entire hospital.”“With the Shure MXA ceiling mic array coupled with the JBL
distributed loudspeaker system, participants can contribute in
their normal speaking voice and they don't even think they're
being amplied or recorded,” said Roneel.Jands Solution
Roneel comments, “It was benecial that the products we
required were all in the Jands house. This includes the Shure
ceiling array microphone and the SVSI solution. From there the
BSS Audio processing, JBL loudspeakers and Crown amplication
being handled by Jands allowed us to get a whole solution from
one distributor, which had distinct advantages. It meant we
weren't locked into products that were sub-standard but still
made it easier for the contractor Fredon Technology to order and
to have a single point of contact. And when you have a
compressed time frame to complete a project, that sort of
advantage can be very important.”AUSTRLIA INSTALLATION