RELEASE ON RECEIPT

                                                   CONTACT: Marguerite Beck
	CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA., Dec. 23 -- The Virginia Neurological Institute 
(VNI) was awarded a $1.4 million research grant from the Defense Department's 
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to design, construct and test a 
prototype integrated remote neurosurgical system.
	The two-year project, which incorporates computerized surgical 
planning and simulation, and remote operation of the surgical microscope, 
will provide the foundation for actual telesurgery in the future.
	"The research to be undertaken by the VNI provides an opportunity to 
assess and evaluate the utility of a remote surgical system in reducing 
battlefield mortality and morbidity, and by extension, to provide 'backup' 
to isolated and remotely located regional medical facilities," said U.Va. 
neurosurgeon Dr. Neal Kassell, president of VNI and principal investigator of 
the project.
	By integrating high performance work stations and novel robotic 
microscope carriers, the system will be able to demonstrate the utility of 
communications and computing resources in improving access to specialized 
surgical facilities, explained Eugene Sullivan, director of VNI's 
telemedicine laboratory. 
	Although the focus of this particular research project is the remote 
delivery of neurosurgical care, the technology and experience gained through 
this effort are broadly applicable to many surgical specialties and are 
expected to have applications in military and civilian medicine, Kassell said. 
The research, along with the more sophisticated systems that will follow, 
will serve as a foundation and test-bed for extending the surgeons' skills 
without regard to time zone or geographic boundaries.
	Created in 1993, the VNI is a center of excellence at the University 
of Virginia Health Sciences Center. It promotes and coordinates the patient 
care, research and teaching activities of the University's clinical 
neuroscience enterprise.
	For additional information, contact Dr. Neal Kassell at 804-924-2735.
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                                                   December 22, 1995