Presented at the 2000 APIII Conference Return to 2000 Abstract Index
VPN-PPP & PC ANYWHERE™ = HIGH-SPEED REMOTE ACCESS AND INEXPENSIVE TELEPATHOLOGY
Children's Hospital
Department of Pathology
Columbus, Ohio
Mark Luquette, MD
Establishment of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) using Point
to Point Protocol (PPP) allows a user to create a secure
tunnel through the Internet from a remote station to a VPN
server. At our hospital, VPN connectivity to the LAN is
established in the following manner. The user installs tunnel
building software on the remote computer which is connected
to the Internet via a cable modem (Road Runner). The user
logs into the VPN server with a hybrid password constructed
of his own unique static password and a metastable password
generated by a token. After the LAN connection is established,
PC Anywhere can be used inside the firewall to take remote
control of a host. PC Anywhere login, screen saver password
protection, and NT login using "send ctrl-alt-del"
add additional security. At this point, the user has all
of the functionality as if he were seated at his host PC.
Subsequent logins are required to access the laboratory
information system (LIS). Using this type of remote connection,
one can also view digital microscopy images in real time
and control the imaging software. Using a telephone, the
host user can be instructed to move the field and change
magnification. The remote user can then save and email the
images to himself for printing for even greater resolution.
The cost of a host installation includes the VPN server,
tunnel building software, and Internet service provider
charges which are markedly less expensive than telepathology
configurations with total remote control of the offsite
host. Additionally, the cost of the VPN server can be absorbed
outside of the laboratory budget as the server provides
connectivity for the hospital at large.
