Hosted by Esri Australia, Ozri 2012, which runs from the 5–7 September at Sheraton on the Park in Sydney, will showcase the latest developments in the spatial industry and highlight extraordinary applications of the technology – such as how GIS is being used to significantly reduce the incidence of surgery-related mortality across Victoria.
The Royal College of Surgeons is just one of many organisations that will share their GIS story at Ozri 2012. They will be discussing the role of the technology in the Victorian Audit of Surgical Mortality (VASM), which involves the clinical review of all cases where patients have died in hospital while under the care of a surgeon.
Esri Australia GIS in Health specialist Jeremy Pytel said the audit used GIS technology to map and analyse complex patient health care data and deliver an insight into mortality rates.
“During the audit, information – such as hospital locations, patient age and cause of death – is digitally layered on a map, enabling the identification of previously unseen correlations in the data,” Mr Pytel said.
“Emerging trends can then be analysed, including whether location-based demographic trends, such as population and gender mix, impact mortality. Alternatively, we can pinpoint whether clinical issues are key determinants.
“Together with the Victorian Department of Health, which also uses the technology, the Royal College of Surgeons have been instrumental in establishing Victoria as the nation’s most progressive state in ‘geomedicine’ – and their story perfectly encapsulates the ‘exploring new frontiers’ theme of the conference.”
Featuring more than sixty sessions, client presentations, leader panels and networking opportunities, Ozri 2012 will showcase the latest developments across the Esri software suite and explore ways to get more out of a GIS investment.
Under the theme of ‘Exploring new frontiers in GIS’, topics to be covered during the conference include how to: build a solid business case for GIS; take advantage of new advances in 3D, LiDAR and Cloud technologies; and deliver any GIS resource, such as maps, imagery, geodatabases, and tools, as a web service. The event will also be one of the first opportunities for users in the region to receive an up-close look at ArcGIS 10.1 – Esri’s newest release of their world-leading GIS platform.
Since it first launched more than 25 years ago, Ozri has developed a reputation as one of the nation’s leading spatial events. More than 550 of Australia's leading GIS professionals attended Ozri 2011 – making it the largest GIS conference in the country.
Toby Clewett, a geospatial analyst at Sunshine Coast Regional Council, was one of these attendees. Mr Clewett, who also presented at Ozri 2011, said the experience has been pivotal in guiding his organisations’ investment in technology.
“Ozri 2011 in Melbourne was a great experience for my colleagues and I from Sunshine Coast Council,” said Mr Clewett. “It was rewarding because we were able to see the results that other organisations and agencies have achieved with geospatial software, and have a platform for describing our own successes with environmental applications using large quantities of LiDAR data.”
“However, it was the opportunity to engage directly with key Australian and American Esri staff that proved to be of enormous value. The numerous discussions with Esri staff, in which they shared their knowledge of future Esri GIS technology development, was integral in assisting Sunshine Coast Council to manage their products and services in this rapidly expanding industry.”
Registration to Ozri 2012 is now open via Esri Australia’s website – www.esriaustralia.com.au/ozri. For a limited time, delegates can register and save $200 with the Early Bird Special.
