Backgraund: mobile devices are widely available and their computational performance increases, allowing them to enter new areas of application. In this situation, medicine should not be a failure: single-screen computers and mobile phones are essential companions for telehealth professionals
Aim: to explore opportunities for ultrasonic Tele-Ultrasound using smartphones and single-plate computers.
Materials and methods: this study focused on the capture of ultrasound videos using external video recording devices connected via USB. Raspberry Pi single-board computers and Android smartphones have been used as platforms to host a tele-ultrasound server. Used software: VLC, Motion, USB Camera. A remote expert assessment was carried out with mobile devices using the following software: VLC acted as a VLC server, Google Chrome for OS Windows 7 and OS Android was used in the remaining scenarios, and the Chromium browser was installed on the Raspberry Pi computer.
Outcomes: the UTV007 chip-based video capture device produces better images than the AMT630A-based device. The optimum video resolution is 720x576, 25 frames per second. VLC and OBS studios are considered to be the most suitable for a raspberry-based ultrasound system due to low equipment and bandwidth requirements (0.640.17 Mbps for VLC and reduced to 0.5 Mbps for OBS studio). For Android phone OS the ultra-sound system was set with the USB camera software, although it required a faster network connection speed (5.20.3 Mbps).
Conclusion: it is possible to implement tele-ultrasound imaging systems with mobile devices. Due to the limited bandwidth, single-board computers are generally considered the best hosting platform for servers. On the condition that there is a sufficiently wide and stable Internet connection, the tele-ultrasound server can also be installed on a smartphone.
Backgraund: The rapid development of the gaming industry resulted in the emergence of a large number of technical tools and technologies with unique characteristics. One of these technologies, which has a high potential for use in medical diagnostics, is streaming (online streaming). By connecting an ultrasound scanner to a video capture system, it is possible to significantly expand the functionality of the diagnostic device.
Aims: To investigate the possibility to apply information technology of the gaming industry in telemedicine as illustrated by the example of tele-ultrasound.
Materials and methods: In this study, an ultrasound video image was captured using a video capture system developed for gamers. The video was obtained during ultrasound of the brachycephalic arteries in the following modes: greyscale B-mode, color duplex and pulse Doppler mode. The examination was broadcast to a video streaming service in real time.
Results: Optimal video image parameters were obtained and the minimum required video streaming settings were determined for an adequate remote evaluation by the expert sonologist. The following video capture workstation settings are recommended: video: 1280x720, 24fps, H.264encoder, bitrate: at least 350kbps.
Conclusions: It is possible to use technical and software tools developed for video game streaming to provide tele-ultrasound.
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