Pacific Western Alliance for Biomedical Intelligence (PACWEST-ABI)

Lawrence Burgess, MD, Dir. of Telehealth, Professor of Surgery
Univ. of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine

 

Abstract

Through a grant funded by TATRC (Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, Ft. Detrick, MD), the University and Hawaii and the University of Southern California have partnered to address the issue of Bioterrorism Preparedness Infectious Disease (BTPID). In an initial retreat held earlier this year at the Maui High Performance Computing Center, we focused on BTPID issues that have been identified as priorities, but are not being funded adequately. One result of the retreat was forming a consortium to address these unsolved issues of BTPID. The consortium was named The Pacific Western Alliance for Biomedical Intelligence (PACWEST-ABI), with a focus on important biomedical issues of the Pacific Western Region of the United States. Members consist of a multidisciplinary group of institutions and individuals with a wide range of complimentary expertise, and are not limited to organizations that are geographically located within the Pacific Western region, as institutions frequently collaborate beyond geographic boundaries. Our vision is to address important world and national issues as they impact the Pacific Western region. Our mission is to develop and implement advanced technological biomedical solutions in the Pacific Western region for adoption by our national community. Our goals are:

  1. To recognize the importance of the timely development and deployment of solutions considering the impending problem
  2. To emphasize off-the-shelf-technology as necessary for short-term needs, and research product development for long-term needs
  3. To emphasize products and solutions that complement other national initiatives
  4. To avoid products and solutions that do not provide significant advantages over other, well-funded initiatives
  5. To emphasize products that leverage the technology for other uses beyond the specific problem
  6. To select appropriate test-beds in the Pacific Western region for product demonstration and validation. With experience gained through many years of related telemedicine, simulation, and biocomputational development, PACWEST-ABI offers a wide range of advanced concept technology solutions for the biomedical community.

BTPID is the first focus area to be addressed by the group. In this process, a construct was developed to address the issues of Threat Attribution, Assured Connectivity, Command and Control, and Advanced Distributed Learning. The construct allows salient strategies for research, development, and deployment of solutions addressing BTPID.

 

Overview

Focus Area: Biomedical Solutions Homeland Defense

University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine
   Lawrence Burgess, MD
   Point of Contact, Administrative Director
   222 S. Vineyard St., #602, Honolulu, HI 96813
   Ph. 808-528-2938, Fax. 808-521-8646,
   email: Lburgess@hawaii.edu

University of Southern California School of Medicine
   Greg Mogel, MD Point of Contact, Co-Director

 

PACWEST-ABI Member Institutions and Organizations:

Center of Excellence for Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Assistance (COE)
   Victoria Garshnek, PhD, Tom Hassling, PhD
   Maui High Performance Computing Center (Maui HPCC)
   Tak Sugimura, PhD, Maqs Alam, PhD

Pacific Telehealth and Technology Hui, a DOD-VA Joint Venture (HUI)
   Stanley Saiki, Jr., MD

Stanford University and NASA Ames
   Kevin Montgomery, PhD, Cammy Huang, PhD

TATRC (Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center) University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine (UH)
   Lawrence Burgess, MD, Deborah Peters, PhD, Bruce Wilcox, PhD,
   Joel Brown, MD, Alan Tice, MD, Steven Seifried, PhD, Maqs Alam,
   PhD, James Holmes-Kennedy, PhD, David Yun, PhD

University of Michigan (UM)
   Brian Athey, PhD

University of New Mexico (UNM)
   Dale Alverson, MD

University of Southern California School of Medicine (USC)
   Greg Mogel, MD, H.K Huang, ScD