On January 28, 2015, Cisco launched the Virtual Pediatric Network (VPN) at the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Children's Hospital Hyundai Cancer Institute in Southern California.

The VPN, a Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, uses advanced Cisco technology to connect pediatric oncologists, genomic researchers, and bioinformatics experts, allowing them to collaborate closely in treating children with cancer.

"A conservative U.S. estimate translates to about 5 million children who could potentially benefit from applying genomic medicine to better manage care delivery," said Dr. Spyro Mousses, the Executive Scientific Advisor at CHOC Children's Hospital.

With genomic medicine - the branch of molecular biology concerned with the structure, function, and mapping of genes - and Cisco technology like Cisco TelePresence, doctors are using computers to gather, store, analyze, and integrate biological and genetic information so it can be applied to patient care.

By taking advantage of digital transformation - the connection of cities, companies, and companies to the Internet - Cisco and CHOC are changing the way we approach cancer treatment. The VPN demonstrates what can be accomplished when traditional methods of diagnosing and treating cancer are combined with the power of virtual collaboration, big data and advanced computer science.

Since its launch, pediatric oncologists and genomic cancer researchers have brought the curative power of medical genomics to more than 100 patients who might not have had access to it otherwise. Since inception, the project has attracted additional funding from the Sharon Disney Lund Foundation, Complete Genomics, Caris Life Sciences, the State of California, and Hyundai.

Cisco recently entered into a joint initiative with the University of California at San Francisco's Office of Innovation, Technology and Alliances to develop an interoperability platform for sharing and integrating healthcare information among health systems, providers, and application vendors.

To read the full Virtual Pediatric Network report, please visit Cisco CSR's Healthcare Page