Enabling Usage at Scale

The Opportunity: Hands-on Training at Scale

In the complex, data-rich world of patient scanning & treatment planning, calculation speed is the common bottleneck related to 3D image coordination (deformable registration), structured organ contouring, and dose calculation heuristics. Voximetry developed Torch™ to leverage GPU-based engines to perform the heavy lifting for these medical processes and ensure the software runs smoothly in a clinical setting.

Voximetry had the unique opportunity to present the Torch® Dose Assessment software to hundreds of skilled medical physicians and physicists at the 2023 American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) conference summer school. This environment would provide a hands-on experience for individual users to better understand how products like Torch® represent a new era of personalized, data-driven care for patients in a clinical setting.

The Challenge: Scaling Clinical Software in Azure

Voximetry knew that users needed to be focused on the clinical value of Torch®, not the logistics and operations of interfacing, managing, and working with computers or a software demo environment. The challenge was how to deliver Torch® at scale to hundreds of users simultaneously, integrating complex anonymized DICOM & Patient Datasets while running these calculations concurrently and in a short turnaround.  

The Solution: Collaborative Approach to Platform Modernization

Eastwall, a dedicated Azure partner, met the needs for this project and its aggressive timeline. After a comprehensive software evaluation and Azure Virtual Desktop engagement, Eastwall and Voximetry partnered to build a solution that would scale and define a framework for delivering the Torch® software to a hundreds of users simultaneously.

Over several weeks, Eastwall worked closely with Voximetry to define the technical requirements, evaluate current deployment methods, and architect a solution. Eastwall's solution centered on building a scalable RemoteApp experience that seamlessly allowed users to log in and simultaneously drive the computationally intensive application.

Leveraging Terraform for rapid infrastructure deployment and scalable logic within Azure Virtual Desktop, a codified platform was deployed that scaled to multiple application hosts and allowed for more than one hundred concurrent user logins for the training course. This approach was not only programmatic and scalable but also ensured that the platform could evolve as Voximetry continued to develop new capabilities and feature sets of their software product.

Supplementing the solution, Eastwall worked with the software & product teams at Voximetry to build a comprehensive software demo guide tailored to medical professionals. This guaranteed that the differentiators of the Torch® RPT software was clear to the AAPM attendees. Eastwall also provided a technical backlog of future improvements and cloud-native software opportunities as a forward-thinking approach to modernization for Voximetry’s technical teams and leadership.

Working with Eastwall has allowed us to better understand how to meet our customers where they are in a manner that is easily accesible, rapidly scalable and showcases the value of our core product. Their knowledge of the Azure cloud and modern software delivery processes has helped us look at how we deliver value to our customers in new and insightful ways.

Paul Wickre, Chief Technology Officer

The Result: Rapid Deployment, Hundreds of Users, Strategic Partnership

The partnership led to several significant accomplishments and benefits:

Rapid Deployment: Eastwall facilitated the development of an Azure VirtualDesktop solution that met the need for up to thirty users, then was able to quickly scale the solution for over one hundred users in a few days’ time. The solution was proven to scale at a moment’s notice when functional requirements were still in-flight.

Microsoft Partnership Alignment: In an era of artificial intelligence and cloud-based processing, demand for GPU allocation in public cloud providers is competitive. Eastwall was able to leverage their partner network to ensure that Voximetry had more than enough GPU-based compute available to scale for the immediate need & for future adoption.

Cost Competitive Delivery: Rather than procuring hundreds of laptops with integrated graphics cards and going through the laborious process of installing, configuring & maintaining software, Eastwall was able to deliver a solution that scaled immediately at a cost point that was a fraction of the total cost of hardware & labor.

Software Roadmap: Eastwall provided a guided backlog of opportunities to adopt modern infrastructure, software & development processes for the software ecosystem. As Voximetry focused on core product iterations and feature development, this roadmap serves as a north-star to platform scalability & operations.

This partnership marked the beginning of a transformative journey for Voximetry. With Eastwall's expertise and the power of Azure, they have an ecosystem to meet their current needs & grow with the rapidly evolving healthcare technology market.

Not only did the systems perform well but the step-by-step guidance we were provided made it easy for the students to maximize their time with our product. Eastwall's role in our success was critical and their knowledge of the Azure ecosystem & associated healthcare expertise was invaluable - it helped us realize the cloud potential for our product.

Abhi Chakrabarti, Chief Operating Officer