AUTHOR=Ren Jia-Yu , Lei Yu-Meng , Lei Bing-Song , Peng Yue-Xiang , Pan Xiao-Fang , Ye Hua-Rong , Cui Xin-Wu 

TITLE=The feasibility and satisfaction study of 5G-based robotic teleultrasound diagnostic system in health check-ups

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1149964

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1149964

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Objective: Regular check-up with ultrasound in underserved rural and/or remote areas is hampered due to the limited availability of sonologists and ultrasound devices. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and satisfaction of health check-ups with a 5G-based robotic teleultrasound diagnostic system.
Methods: In this prospective study, sonologists from two hospitals manipulated the telerobotic ultrasound system to perform teleultrasound check-ups of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, bladder, prostate (male), uterus and ovaries (female) for the subjects. The feasibility and satisfaction of health check-ups with a 5G-based robotic teleultrasound diagnostic system were evaluated in terms of examination results, examination duration, and satisfaction questionnaire survey.
Results: A total of 546 subjects were included with the most frequently diagnosed being abdominal disorders (n=343) and male reproductive illnesses (n=97), of which fatty liver (n=204) and prostatic calcification (n=54) were the most. The median teleultrasound examination duration (interquartile range) for men and women was 9 (9-11) min and 9 (7-11) min (p = 0.236), respectively. All the subjects were satisfied with this new type of telerobotic ultrasound check-ups and 96% reported no fear of the robotic arm during the examination.
Conclusions: The 5G-based teleultrasound robotic diagnostic system in health check-ups is feasible and satisfactory, indicating that this teleultrasound robot system may have significant application value in underserved rural and/or remote areas to mitigate disparity in achieving health equity.