Medical applications are among the most demanding users of network capacity, real-time performance, mission-critical reliability, and data security. Fiber optic cabling is the primary technology of choice to fulfill these requirements; however, it is often difficult or costly to connect fiber to buildings across city streets or beyond the main campus. Increasingly, hospitals and medical centers are accelerating the pace of accessing and storing patient's records via EMRs (electronic medical records), including lab results, pharmaceutical data and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems). The use of tablet computers to simplify record updates is growing. In March of 2011, bulletinhealthcare.com reported a 45% increase in health care professionals' access to information by smartphone or iPad®. Considering that data centers storing these records are often not connected to the main hospital, or medical office building, all this adds up to an explosion of information straining existing network infrastructure.
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