Desktop teleradiology in support of rural orthopedic trauma care.

UNLABELLED

Research has shown that diagnostic quality images for most teleradiology applications requires a sophisticated telemedicine system and access to a large amount of bandwidth. While the ideal standards have been set by those involved in evaluating teleradiology, these standards are impractical for many small rural health centers which deliver routine trauma care. While there is no disagreement about the ultimate need for this level of teleradiology support, the purpose of this research was to determine whether Orthopedists would be able to read plain radiographs of orthopedic trauma injuries using a desktop teleradiology system in support of rural trauma care.

METHOD

Two radiology residents and two orthopedic residents viewed forty radiographs, twenty through a desktop teleradiology system and twenty in person. Diagnostic findings and certainty of diagnosis were recorded.

FINDINGS

There was no statistically significant difference between modalities in orthopedic residents' ability to correctly diagnose orthopedic trauma injuries. Further, for those instances when the diagnosis was imprecise, the residents were aware of their inability to make an accurate diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

Although the study was relatively limited and further research needs to be done, the use of desktop teleradiology in support of rural orthopedic trauma consultation is a promising alternative to the more expensive forms of telemedicine technology.