Ascending with ultrasound: telementored eFAST in flight-a feasibility study.

Autor: Engelsen PC; The Intervention Centre, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. pedgre@ous-hf.no.; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. pedgre@ous-hf.no., Heyerdahl F; The Air Ambulance Department, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway., Maddali DD; Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway., Akhavi MS; The Intervention Centre, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway., Undseth RM; The Intervention Centre, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway., Elle OJ; The Intervention Centre, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway., Brun H; The Intervention Centre, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Emergency radiology [Emerg Radiol] 2024 Feb; Vol. 31 (1), pp. 25-31. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Dec 09.
DOI: 10.1007/s10140-023-02186-x
Abstrakt: Purpose: Teleultrasound uses telecommunication technologies to transmit ultrasound images from a remote location to an expert who guides the acquisition of images and interprets them in real time. Multiple studies have demonstrated the feasibility of teleultrasound. However, its application during helicopter flight using long-term evolution (LTE) for streaming has not been studied. Therefore, we conducted a study to examine the feasibility of teleultrasound in an Airbus H145 helicopter.
Methods: Four anesthesiologists and one military physician were recruited to perform telementored extended Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (eFAST) during nine helicopter flights, each with a unique healthy volunteer. A radiologist was recruited as a remote expert, guiding the physicians in their examinations. The examining physicians reported the user experience of telementored eFAST on a questionnaire, while the remote expert rated the diagnostic quality of the images on a 1-5 Likert scale. In addition, we measured the duration of the examinations and key LTE network parameters including signal strength, quality, and continuity.
Results: The images were rated to an average of 4.9 by the remote expert, corresponding to good diagnostic quality. The average duration of telementored eFAST was 05:54 min. LTE coverage was negatively affected by proximity to urban areas and ceased above 2000 ft altitude. Occasional audio problems were addressed by using the Voice over LTE network for communication. The examining physicians unanimously reported on the questionnaire that they would use telementored eFAST on patients.
Conclusion: Telementored eFAST is feasible in ambulance helicopters and can produce images of good diagnostic quality. However, it relies on stable LTE coverage, which is influenced by many factors, including the helicopter's altitude and flight path. Furthermore, its benefit on patient outcomes remains to be proven.
(© 2023. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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