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Presence Examples From DMeurope.com ("Digital media news for Europe") France Telecom, La Mutualité Française carry out world’s first remote cardiac, obstetric ultrasound imaging trials Telco France Telecom and La Mutualité Française have carried out the world's first trials of remote cardiac and obstetric ultrasound imaging, with simultaneous connection of multiple sites 27/10/2004 by John Tilak Physicians from the Institut Mutualiste Montsouris (IMM), working at hospitals in Paris and Nîmes (in the south of France), have used a tele-ultrasound system with robotic control developed by France Telecom to perform two ultrasound exams--one cardiac and one obstetric--on patients in Ganges (in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France). The exams involved collaboration among multiple experts. This collaborative tele-ultrasound system integrates four different telecommunications services: multi-site video telephony, real-time transmission and multi-user sharing of medical images, and reproduction--over a distance of several hundred miles--of the physician’s examination of the patient, including tactile feedback. On October 26, two patients hospitalised at the Mutualiste Clinic in Ganges in southern France (Languedoc-Roussillon region) were given complete medical exams by a team of specialists at remote locations, each of whom was able to intervene at any moment. From the IMM in Paris, Professor François Laborde, a cardiologist, performed a cardiac ultrasound exam on the patient in the clinic at Ganges, sharing the results of the exam in real time with colleagues at the Nîmes University Hospital (nearly 40 miles (60 kilometers) away). From the Nîmes University Hospital, Professor Mares, an obstetrician, performed an antenatal ultrasound examination on a patient at the clinic in Ganges, with simultaneous support from an ultrasound specialist at the IMM hospital in Paris, who carried out an additional ultrasound scan of the fetus’ brain. This allows patients to feel reassured by being able to speak with their local physician while benefiting from remote access to healthcare specialists. The tele-ultrasound system is the result of five years of work by France Telecom Research & Development teams. It allows several physicians or radiologists to perform examinations of patients at remote sites in succession. Using a "force-feedback" arm, each expert can take control of a robotic ultrasound probe that displays the medical images generated both to the examining physician and to all assisting colleagues. At the same time, the system generates ultra tactile feedback--resistance, hardness, roughness, etc.--as the probe moves across the patient’s body. An integrated video system displays a complete view of the examination on the computer screens of all participants. This allows physicians to speak normally to the patient, which is essential to maintaining direct contact and interaction and thus a climate of confidence. The system replicates the environment of a conventional ultrasound exam due to the synchronisation of data flows. Patient safety is also ensured. Tele-ultrasound examinations are important to ensuring high-level medical advice. In addition to obstetrics--regular ultrasound exams during pregnancy, as well as emergency exams--the system also harbours great promise in other areas where ultrasound exams are used, including angiology, urology, ophthalmology and even dermatology or motor therapy. The tele-ultrasound system has also been deployed at university hospitals in Brest and Grenoble for evaluation within formal clinical trials organized by the Centre d’Investigation Clinique (INSERM, the French Institute of Health and Medical Research and the Grenoble University Hospital). Results will be reviewed by the Consultative Committee for Personal Protection in Biological Research (CCPPRB). In addition to work by physicians at the IMM hospital, development of this multi-user tele-ultrasound service has drawn on the expertise and contributions of several partners. The UJF TIMC-IMAG medical research laboratory and robot-assisted medical equipment specialist Praxim designed the architecture for the robot and the command and control system. France Telecom researchers contributed a simplified ergonomic interface to allow healthcare professionals to set up video communications between several sites (creating a virtual "telepresence" thanks to the e-conf software). This allows participants to take control of the robotic ultrasound system in succession and display the same instantly transmitted medical images. The service is covered by six different patents. |