CANARIE and CENIC Create a 'Canada-California Superhighway' that is Enabling New RD&D Projects in Health Care and Digital Media

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is using the ultra-high-speed connection enabled by CANARIE
and CENIC to deliver a three-dimensional anatomy course to multiple students in different regions, at the same time.
The program allows professors, researchers and students in universities across Northern Ontario (Canada)
to view and manipulate the most comprehensive collection of high-definition cadaver dissections
in the world–stored at Stanford University in California

Canada is taking advantage of giant broadband pipeline to California to train more doctors in northern communities, combat autism and other neurological diseases and strengthen this country's position as a global innovation hub for digital cinema. And that's just the beginning.

Connecting Canada's advanced research and education network (CANARIE) with its equivalent in California (CENIC) was among the first results to be delivered from the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP). This landmark link was established in June 2006, just a few months after the first CCSIP discussions amongst Canada's Consul General in Los Angeles, the University of California and scientific stakeholders from across Canada.

"When you get involved in these large collaborative projects, you look for something that is important and achievable early on," Dr. Roberto Peccei, Vice-Chancellor at the University of California, during in a 2006 interview. "Thanks to the leadership of CANARIE, CENIC and Calit2 (California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology), there was a real willingness to move forward very rapidly. Having this broadband link as one of our first success stories gives a real boost to the entire Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership."

CANARIE's advanced network is available in every Canadian province and territory, including more than 80 universities, 50 colleges, 2000 schools, 40 research centres, and 40 hospitals. Its link to CENIC includes the 10 campuses of the University of California and hundreds of other universities, colleges and research institutions in California.

Delivering speeds as fast as 10 gigabits per second, this "broadband bridge" has made it possible for researchers to collaborate in technology areas with strong potential for commercialization, and to build on US$36.9-billion in bilateral trade between Canada and California.

Strengthening Research Ties

Researchers on both sides of the border have already begun exploiting this dedicated broadband connection. For example, brain mapping experts at the Montreal Neurological Institute are collaborating with colleagues at the University of California's National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research to develop a global brain imaging research network to study normal brain development and autism.

Over time, this global network promises to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders, lower health care costs and improve quality of life for those who suffer from neurological diseases.

"It is no longer a pipe dream that we can integrate data and, more importantly, knowledge of brain development and disease from across the globe. The computational power and telecommunication capabilities of advanced research networks are revolutionizing the way in which neuroscience is conducted. The opportunity to draw on the expertise and knowledge of other groups around the world in this way offers us entirely new ways to address our local health problems," said Dr. Alan Evans, Professor, Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University.

Training More Northern Doctors

This unique broadband partnership could make advanced diagnostic tools available to any university with a medical school, helping to increase the number of doctors practicing in smaller towns and cities. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), Canada's newest medical school, started to use this connection in 2006 to offer a three-dimensional anatomy course–simultaneously and in real-time–to students at Laurentian University in Sudbury and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

Students can view and manipulate the world's most comprehensive collection of high-definition cadaver dissections, stored at Stanford University in California. NOSM is currently exploring options to make its iAnatomy course available to other medical schools across Canada.

"The whole idea of our distributed education program is to teach students out in the community where we hope they will end up. By making this information accessible across a wide variety of platforms, medical students in Sudbury or Thunder Bay will have access to the same resources as students in downtown Toronto," says Dr. David Topps
Director of e-Learning, Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Tapping Into Canada's Cinematic Expertise

Ryerson University is among the research institutions that are helping to keep Canada at the forefront of technological innovation in digital cinema. Researchers at the institution are currently using the CANARIE-CENIC broadband link to collaborate with engineers and scientists at the University of California San Diego and the University of Southern California in CineGrid^�–a consortium of labs worldwide in which filmmakers, visualization specialists and digital media experts collaborate at a distance in the production and post-production of digital cinema and other high-demand imagery.

This research has the potential to position Toronto–and Canada–as a leading post-production centre for digital cinema. As Peter Finestone, Toronto's film commissioner, describes, it means distance is no longer a barrier to creative collaboration.

"A director in San Francisco, Prague, Melbourne, Madrid, Mumbai or Los Angeles could work with a post-production team in Toronto. They can see and hear one another other, share dailies, edit scenes, add music, animation or other content - all in maximum fidelity and with no significant time lag. It is this type of capability that will allow Toronto to share its expertise in post-production with the world."

And California recognizes the value of this partnership with Canada. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has emphasized the importance of leveraging each other's strengths in research, business and investment to advance research and commercialization in several areas, including stems cells and regenerative medicine, infectious diseases, nanotechnology, advanced transportation and energy, as well as information and communications technologies.

"California and Canada are both progressive, forward-thinking and global in their outlook. By leveraging each other's strengths in research, business and investment we can demonstrate the power of partnerships to export our influence to the rest of North America and the world. CENIC and CANARIE have build the broadband bridge that will help accelerate our ability to find new cures for disease and new ways to reduce our reliance on oil and coal - innovations that will not only benefit California and Canada, but the entire world," said Governor Schwarzenegger. Thank you to CANARIE for providing information for this article.