Abstract
Telemedicine is the practice of providing health services remotely by means of ICT. It is widely considered as a viable solution for overcoming distance barriers in healthcare delivery. Its applications range from monitoring patients with chronic diseases, to visiting patients at a distance, to obtaining a second opinion or performing remote surgical operations. Real-time telemedicine, in particular, includes all the technologies and methodologies needed when it is essential to support live audio/video interactions between patients and doctors or between doctors. In the past, its adoption has been limited because it required dedicated network infrastructures and expensive hardware stations. Here we present the CRS4 real-time telemedicine system, the prototype we developed to address these issues, and its 10 years’ evolution. By means of low-cost hardware and open-source software, it supports remote real-time ultrasound examinations, performed by a clinician close to the patient and guided by the instructions of a specialist at a distance. The system is suitable for all the diagnostic procedures which require very specialised skills to be performed correctly, also called operator-dependent, and it can be also used for educational purposes. Its clinical effectiveness has been demonstrated in two use cases, paediatric cardiology and point-of-care ultrasonography.
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Notes
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The model used is the Android based Epson Moverio BT-200
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Acknowledgements
We dedicate this work to the memory of Gianluigi Zanetti, whose legacy continues to inspire. We also want to thank all the persons who supported this work with passion during these years. In particular, Roberto Tumbarello, Sabrina Montis, Andrea Marini, Paola Neroni and all the “G. Brotzu” Hospital Staff in Cagliari; Floriana Zennaro and all the “Burlo Garofalo” Hospital Staff in Trieste; Emiliano Deplano, Carlo Balloi and the “Nostra Signora della Mercede” Hospital Staff in Lanusei; Francesco Cabras, Stefano Leone Monni, Riccardo Triunfo, Cecilia Mascia, Alessandro Piroddi, Luca Lianas, Emanuela Falqui. This work has received funding from Sardinian Regional Authorities under projects ABLE, DIFRA, REMOTE (L.R. 7/2007 year 2009), CONNECT (L.R. 7/2007 year 2012), and from Sardegna Ricerche under project MOST (“Azioni cluster top-down” - POR Sardegna FESR 2007/2013).
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Frexia, F., Meloni, V., Del Rio, M., Zanetti, G. (2021). CRS4 Telemed: Open and Low-Cost Technologies for Real-Time Telesonography. In: Pani, D., Rabotti, C., Signorini, M.G., Burattini, L. (eds) Innovative Technologies and Signal Processing in Perinatal Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54403-4_2
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