Telemedicine: Dr Ronald Merrell ... VCU Telemedicine

Under normal circumstances, surgeons and anesthesiologists work side by side in the operating room, but recently for the first time known they work half a world apart to help ailing patients in one of the most remote areas of South America. Using a well-equipped mobile operating room housed inside a converted delivery truck, a medical team led by Ronald C. Merrell, M.D., chairman of surgery at Virginia Commonwealth Universitys School of Medicine, performs surgery in South America while monitoring patients' breathing and heart rhythms on a desktop computer 3,000 miles away in Richmond.

Virginia Commonwealth University and NBC-12 teamed up to create the series called "It's VCU" to showcase this urban university, located in the heart of Richmond. VCUs diverse students, faculty and programs, superior teaching, steady growth and groundbreaking research are shaping Richmond, the state and the region.