Innovations with tele-ultrasound in education sonography: the use of tele-ultrasound to train novice scanners

Anne E Drake, Jonathan Hy, Gordon A MacDougall, Brendan Holmes, Lauren Icken, Jon W Schrock, Robert A Jones, Anne E Drake, Jonathan Hy, Gordon A MacDougall, Brendan Holmes, Lauren Icken, Jon W Schrock, Robert A Jones

Abstract

Objectives: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become increasingly integrated into medical education given the growing role of evaluative and procedural techniques in practice today. Tele-ultrasound is a new and promising venture that aims to expand medical knowledge and education to previously unreached or underserved areas. This study aimed to determine the non-inferiority of teaching ultrasound remotely using tele-ultrasound via the Philips Lumify (Philips Medical Systems, Bothell, WA) system, which utilizes video conferencing technology and real-time imaging that can be viewed by the operator and educator simultaneously.

Methods: Three commonly used ultrasound exams were taught and evaluated in 56 ultrasound-naive medical participants: Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST), Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis (LEDVT) screening, and ultrasound-guided vascular access. The participants were randomized into either in-person traditional learning or tele-ultrasound learning with the Philips Lumify (Philips Medical Systems, Bothell, WA) units. The primary outcome of interest was the ability to perform certain tasks for each exam RESULTS: Competency on each exam was tested across all exams and no inferiority was found between in-person and remote learning (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Our findings support the use of tele-ultrasound in beginner ultrasound education.

Keywords: Medical education; Remote learning; Tele-ultrasound; Ultrasound.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Pre-Assessment Questionnaire answers for the Traditional (T) and Tele-ultrasound (R) groups. Participants rated their confidence with the Likert scale of 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). Averages between the two groups are shown here. No significant differences were found (p < 0.05)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Post-Assessment Questionnaire answers for the Traditional (T) and Tele-ultrasound (R) groups. Participants of both groups rated their confidence in their abilities after their training session, as well as opinions on the pre-session education materials

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Source: PubMed

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