Stratus Video launched in late 2011 as a way to enhance everyday communications with business grade video conferencing solutions. Businesses and government agencies, including Wal-Mart, Boeing (News - Alert) and the Social Security Administration are using similar technology from Stratus’s parent company to improve communications with deaf and hard-of-hearing clients. Now, hospitals may be able to harness video conferencing and save lives in the process.

One vision for utilizing video conferencing in hospitals is to connect non-English speakers with interpreters. Instead of being unable to communicate pain, medication allergies and other conditions to doctors, patients can communicate to interpreters who can then pass the information on to doctors in English over an HD connection.

Sean Belanger, CEO of Stratus Video, sees the technology as a way to improve daily life and also to potentially save lives. “On-demand, high-definition mobile video conferencing linked to a 24/7 call center can solve life-or-death problems, like the hospital patient who needs an interpreter fast,” said Belanger.“And it can make life much simpler for both service providers and customers, like the client who can’t figure out how to install his printer cartridge.”

To support its vision, Stratus offers three main video conferencing tools. One tool, ZVRI, functions as a cloud-based video language interpretation tool. Through ZVRI, clients and patients can find interpretation for American Sign Language as well as multiple spoken languages. Another product, Video Call Center, allows customer service representatives to communicate face-to-face with customers, simplifying communications and allowing employees to do their jobs more efficiently. In addition, ViewME, an HD cloud-based video communication tool, links businesses to both clients and suppliers.

According to Belanger, the world has “gone video.” He points out that 23 million people use Skype (News - Alert) daily and that YouTube provides over two billion videos daily. “Personal adaption of video,” Belanger pointed out,“is across the all age groups, not just the 14- to 35-year-olds.” Belanger also believes that 24/7 video conferencing centers, accessible through video conferencing on all mobile devices, are the inevitable wave of the future.

“We're not far from a future where your Maytag repairman dials into a call center from the field for live video support,” Belanger says. “Or the customer herself calls in and is visually instructed on how she can replace the part herself. Instead of the customer and the support person wasting their time struggling to communicate, problems get resolved quickly.” For anyone who has spent hours on the phone with a help desk operator, call center video conferencing could provide a refreshing change of pace.