A Feasibility Study of Telementoring for Identifying the Appendix Using Smartphone-based Telesonography

A randomized cross-over study was conducted using a telesonography system that can transmit the ultrasound images displayed on the ultrasound monitor(ultrasound sequence video) and images showing the practitioner's operations(background video) to a smartphone without any interruption in motion over a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. Thirty novice practitioners were randomly assigned to two groups. The subjects in group A (n=15) performed ultrasonography for the identification of the appendix under mentoring by an onsite expert, whereas those in group B (n=15) performed the same procedure under mentoring by an offsite expert.

Each subject performed the procedure on three simulated patients. After a four-week interval, they performed the procedure again under the other type of mentoring. A total of 90 ultrasound examinations were performed in each scenario. The primary outcomes were the success rate for identifying the appendix and the time required to identify the appendix.