Robotic tele-ultrasound: combating medical desertification
Thanks to new information and communication technologies, telemedicine is growing fast. Today, it is a powerful tool in the fight against medical desertification.
Tele-ultrasound (or robotic remote ultrasound) is central to these new practices of tele-consultation and tele-expertise.
This innovative technology allows an expert to perform a reliable, accurate ultrasound remotely, in real time, even if the patient is thousands of kilometres away. It offers a valuable solution for remote patients and facilities, or in emergency situations.
Why use tele-ultrasound?
This high-tech solution meets many needs in France and abroad, and allows:
- Continuity of care in under-resourced areas
- Fewer inter-hospital transfers
- Streamlined or pooled medical on-call duties
- Effective action against lmedical desertification
- High-performance diagnostic imaging where it was previously impossible (on islands, ships, in military areas, space, disaster zones, etc.)
How does robotic tele-ultrasound work?
Here is what makes this remote medical technology so useful and precise:
– The radiologist or medical imaging physician carries out the ultrasound examination in real time
– The expert controls the probe directly but remotely, to obtain the images needed: the rotation and tilt movements are very precise
– People say that ultrasound is “operator-dependent”: the images are analysed and interpreted during the examination and the report cannot be changed afterwards
The principle of tele-ultrasound
Originating from space medicine research (UMPS), supported by the CNES (the French National Centre for Space Studies) and the ESA (the European Space Agency), the concept of robotic remote ultrasound is recognised as a reliable and powerful solution.
Today, tele-ultrasound is a standard feature of telemedicine. It allows a doctor in an expert centre to control an ultrasound probe located at another site at distance. The images from the examination are interpreted at the same time. The two sites can connect via satellite, the Internet or any other technology that works in the local infrastructure.
This need is precisely why we developed MELODY, a high-performance robotic solution that allows these examinations to be performed remotely with great precision, even in complex or remote situations.
The history and development of tele-ultrasound
Scientific validation and clinical results
Scientifically, robotic tele-ultrasound has demonstrated its effectiveness through clinical studies published in international journals.
- Around 95% concordance with standard ultrasound
- No false positives or false negatives during the examinations performed
- Average duration of an examination: 12 minutes
These results confirm the reliability and the diagnostic quality of this innovative technique.
What is the future for tele-ultrasound?
In Europe
Tele-ultrasound appears to be a sound solution to current challenges in medicine:
- Lack of expert availability
- Radiologists and medical imaging physicians need better working conditions (fewer on-call duties)
- Reducing patient travel
- Reducing the need for inter-hospital transfers
It is gradually establishing itself as the missing link in a complete tele-imaging chain.
Internationally
In many areas, medical isolation remains a major problem. Tele-ultrasound allows:
- Medical emergencies in remote areas to be managed
- Pregnancies to be monitored in remote regions
- Overseas territories to access the services needed, where housing is dispersed
It is also useful in other contexts: on ships, for the military, for humanitarian work, on oil platforms, in prisons, etc.
In summary
Robotic tele-ultrasound is emerging as a major technological advance in the field of telemedicine. Reliable, scientifically validated and already being used in critical contexts, it is paving the way for high-quality remote medical care, serving patients and healthcare professionals.