Teleradiology in northern Quebec.

A two-way television network using the Canadian satellite ANIK-B was utilized to transmit radiographic images from Northern Quebec to Montreal. The accuracy of the radiologist's interpretation and his satisfaction with the TV system were studied using a series of 67 preselected cases and 425 current clinical cases. The four participating radiologists gave correct TV interpretations in 81% of the 39 selected cases presented at the beginning of the experiment. This value reached 94% for the other 28 selected cases presented after three months of regular use of the TV system. With current clinical cases, the agreement between TV and direct interpretations was 93%. Although magnification was available, correct identification of very small lesions proved to be the major source of error. On the whole, the radiologists were satisfied with the TV system.