Ogedegbe Chinwe, Morchel Herman, Hazelwood Vikki, Hassler Cynthia, Feldman Joseph
Hackensack University Medical Center, Emergency Trauma Department, Hackensack, NJ 07601, USA.
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2012;2012:5794-7. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2012.6347311.
There is not sufficient access to medical care or medical expertise in many parts of the world. An innovative telemedicine system has been developed to provide expert medical guidance to field caregivers [who have less medical expertise but can reach the patient population in need]. Real-time ultrasound video images have been securely transmitted from the Dominican Republic to Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack NJ (HackensackUMC), while the expert physician at HackensackUMC maintained direct voice communication with the field caregiver. Utilizing a portable ultrasound machine (Sonosite) integrated with portable broadcasting device (LiveU), extended Focused Assessment Sonography in Trauma (e-FAST) examinations were performed on healthy volunteers and transmitted via the local cellular network. Additionally, two e-FAST examinations were conducted from a remote location without cellular coverage and transmitted via broad ground area network (BGAN) satellites. The demonstration took the technology "out of the lab" and into a real life, austere environment. The conditions of the Dominican Republic ultrasound mission provided experience on how to manage and utilize this innovative technology in areas where reliable communications and medical coverage are not readily available. The resilient transmission capabilities coupled with the security features deem this portable Telesonography (TS) equipment highly useful in the telemedicine forefront by offering healthcare in underdeveloped areas as well as potentially enhancing throughput in disaster situations.
在世界许多地区，人们无法充分获得医疗护理或医疗专业知识。现已开发出一种创新的远程医疗系统，为现场护理人员[他们医疗专业知识较少，但能够接触到有需要的患者群体]提供专家医疗指导。实时超声视频图像已从多米尼加共和国安全传输至新泽西州哈肯萨克市的哈肯萨克大学医学中心（哈肯萨克大学医学中心），同时哈肯萨克大学医学中心的专家医生与现场护理人员保持直接语音通信。利用一台与便携式广播设备（LiveU）集成的便携式超声机（索诺声），对健康志愿者进行了扩展创伤重点超声检查（e-FAST），并通过当地蜂窝网络进行传输。此外，还在一个没有蜂窝网络覆盖的偏远地点进行了两次e-FAST检查，并通过广域地面网络（BGAN）卫星进行传输。这次演示将该技术“带出实验室”，应用到了现实生活中的艰苦环境中。多米尼加共和国超声任务的情况提供了关于如何在可靠通信和医疗覆盖不易获得的地区管理和利用这项创新技术的经验。其强大的传输能力与安全功能，使得这种便携式远程超声（TS）设备在远程医疗前沿非常有用，既能在欠发达地区提供医疗服务，又有可能提高灾害情况下的医疗效率。
