The Network Requirement Analysis for Epping Hospital - Case Study Example

Requirement analysis and Flow Analysis of a Network Design. Name Institutional Affiliation Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Table of figures. 2 Table of figures. Figure 1: A robotic system in the surgery room……………..……………………………………4 Figure 2: A virtual surgery room………………………………………………………………….5 Figure 3: EH secure network……………………………………………………………….……..8 Figure 4: Network flow diagram.............................................................................................…...11 List of tables Table 1: The required devices (models and price)…………………………………………..…….6 Table 2: Medical devices and corresponding image sizes and data rates…...…………………….9 Requirement analysis and Flow Analysis of a Network Design. Introduction. The virtual operating theatre concept is relatively new and it derives from the need to train the surgeons as well as the surgery students to proficiency levels of the profession without putting human life at risk. The Epping Hospital’s proposal to create build a virtual operating theatre is important because the successful implementation would increase collaboration among medical professionals, training and professional development. At the minimum, a virtual operating theatre depends on such technologies as robotics, material science and communication. The hospital network allows the interaction, where mobile video technologies can be used to convey real-time virtual face to face interaction. The also provides interaction of the medical devices used in the operating room. As a result, it is necessary to provide adequate management to the network to secure it and enable concurrent operation when rolling out new versions. Techniques of new virtual operating theatre. At Epping Hospital, the need to improve the surgical services, research and development, training and collaboration among the professionals in the hospital. A virtual operating theatre concept can be achieved through the input of the hospital, the school of medicine and the information technology professionals. The Epping Hospital’s virtual operating theatre project is supported by the presence of the hospital surgery/medical specialists, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine (Sydney City University) and the hospital’s chief information officer. The most advanced concept of a virtual operating theatre is based on two basic principles, namely simulation and virtual operations (BROWN, 2012). Virtual operating theatre simulations. A simulated virtual theatre uses mechanical feedback system to train the surgeons. The simulated surgical rooms allow advanced interaction capabilities that bridge the virtue space models to the reality to allow the upcoming medical professionals access practical training until they become proficient enough to handle real situations. One of the practical characteristics of the virtual operating theatre simulators is the capability to produce a wide range of indications and symptoms that may be faced in the reality (BROWN, 2012). Figure 1: A robotic system in the surgery room. Virtual operations in the virtual operating theatre. For the virtual operating theatre to align with the 21st century’s surgery advancements, the simulators must support the least invasive surgery techniques such as laparoscopy. It should support the insertion of imaging devices as well as surgical instruments via small insertions. Besides, the virtual operations should present operation scenarios of difference in body tissue hardness to enable the student interact with the surgical machines and instruments as appropriate (MULLANEY, 2011). Figure 2: A virtual surgery room The selection of techniques and mobile devices for video communication. The guiding principles of selecting the devices to be used at EH mobile video communication include reliability, security, functionality and supportability (MCCABE, 2007). The mobile devices for use at EH will be required to provide virtual face-to-face interaction among the staff members within the hospital. Besides, real-time mobile video chats among the players in the hospital can create interpersonal level interaction (HE, GUAN & ZHU, 2014). The selection of the mobile video technologies for use in the hospital should be based on several success factors that would help make the project a reality. One of the selection criteria is the camera quality. The quality of the camera should support video conferencing in high definition properties. Most smartphones provide video conferencing functions, but only iPad 2 and iPhone 4 provide high definition video properties. However, all phone cameras do not have the capability to compensate for poor lighting. Another selection criteria are the positioning of the phone camera (HE, GUAN & ZHU, 2014). Table 1: The required devices (models and price). Device Model Price per unit(Amazon’s Average USD) Smartphones iPad 2 499 iPhone 4 209 Workstations HP Z230 SFF Workstation 2045 Routers Linksys AC3200 Tri-Band Smart Wi-Fi Router 300 Modem Trendnet TEW-818DRU 50 Network interface card (NIC) Toshiba Gigabit Network Interface Card GB-NIC 268 Wireless network interface card(WNIC) Asus PCE-N53 300Mbps Wireless Network Interface Card 25 Wireless access point Edimax EW-7438APn WAP 34 Switch Jupiter EX4200-24T-DC 3245 Network security. Medical facilities face a unique network security concern because they handle sensitive information that may affect the longevity of the patients. The proposed network of Epping hospital entails the exchange of critical information about surgical operations as well as students’ training. The network situation of the network faces both the cyber-attack threats and physical destruction threats (MCCABE, 2007). The existing network is linked to the web creating a susceptibility of attack from the internet. The hospital is established in a neighborhood that has recreational facilities possibly within the range of the hospital’s wireless network. Unauthorized individuals can intrude the network from the nearby recreational facilities (BROOKER & WEINTHAL, 2013). The physical threats to the network result from the closeness of the buildings creating ease physical access to the servers. Network security requirements and measures. Epping Hospital network has a risk of intrusion from the unauthorized individuals from the two hospitals, the university and the nearby recreational facilities. One of the important measures is the implementation of the cyber security tools. These tools include the intrusion prevention tools, next-generation firewalls and secure VPNs. Use of advanced cyber security tools would prevent the access of the unwanted parties to the hospital network (VERMA, 2009). Another measure that would help secure the Epping Hospital network is the fortification of the authentication measures. Physical barriers to protect servers, workstations, switches and routers are also necessary to keep off thieves. Figure 3: EH secure network. QOS and performance requirements. The virtual operating theatre requires a connection to the Epping Hospital network creating various QOS requirements. Such aspects of the network with defined QOS requirements include video communication, medical images transmission, robotic systems and transmission of the medical signs. In a virtual operating theatre, video communication links medical specialists amongst themselves as well as with the students. According to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications, the minimum requirements for video communication techniques include high sensitivity to jitter and delay. Besides, the one-way end-to-end delay bounds ought to remain 150-400 ms. Additionally, the acceptable frame eraser rates of loss ought to remain Read More