Examination of a cardiac patient, by using carotid artery ultrasound screening: possibilities of telemedicine

Abstract

In clinical practice, there is a high workload of ultrasound (US) diagnostic rooms and a long waiting time for patients to be examined. For targeted selection of patients for expert US, it is possible for clinicians to conduct focus studies according to short protocols, which can be implemented using extramobile US devices. Objective. To assess the possibility of using telemedicine technologies to train cardiologists in an US-assisted primary examination of patients at an outpatient stage, as well as to evaluate the quality of this US by expert doctors. Material and methods. After briefly learning how to use a Philips Lumify handheld US device, two cardiologists independently examined the carotid arteries of patients, made conclusions about the presence of atherosclerotic plaques, and recorded the time spent on the examination. After each examination, the physician sent a video loop to an US expert, who assessed the quality of scanning. Results. The investigation enrolled 104 patients. The opinion of a cardiologist on the presence of an atherosclerotic plaque coincided with that of the expert in 66% of cases.