Standardized visual evoked potentials for telematic electrodiagnosis from five laboratories in three European countries

Abstract

The pattern-reversal visual evoked potential (PR VEP) is an electrodiagnostic test which uses an alternating checkerboard pattern as the visual stimulus. To validate the performance of an automated testing system, the equipment was installed in five locations in three countries (the UK, Greece and Cyprus). PR VEPs require accurate control of stimulus size, luminance, contrast, timing, multichannel recordings and various modes of signal processing. Recordings were obtained from 70 subjects, 18-34 years old (seven male and seven female in each laboratory). The data were transmitted by telephone line to the central station in Bristol. Only in Bristol were the operators experienced. There were no significant differences between laboratories in latency or amplitude of the N70 and P100 components. There were no significant differences between eyes. There were significant differences between the sexes but this was related to head size. Decreased square size used in stimulation produced an increased latency in both components. The amplitude of the N70 component increased while that of the P100 decreased with reduced square size. The results confirmed the ability of the automated system to produce standardized PR VEP recordings comparable to those obtainable in advanced laboratories. The system performed well in different locations using inexperienced operators. The system is suitable for multicentre research studies and telemedicine.

Prerecorded telemedicine

“…The results from both the normal subjects and the patients show that ophthalmic electrodiagnosis is possible using telemedicine. 7…”

A Telehealth System for Remote Auditory Evoked Potential Monitoring

“…Though an Automated Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) system (19) was implemented to collect, analyze and off-line transmit via a telephone link VEP averaged data to an evaluation center from the acquisition lab, this system was mainly designed to standardize the acquisition of data for visual evoked potential analysis between different labs. The system was not intended for remote home monitoring, and did not seem to possess real time EEG data capture and transmission capabilities.…”

The Use of Telemedicine Access to Schools to Facilitate Expert Assessment of Children with Asthma

“…Although the evidence base is still growing, there are identifiable positive outcomes associated with telemedicine. Telemedicine has been used in school settings to improve access to care, treat otitis media, and increase appropriate specialist referral and access to expert asthma care for patients with asthma [10, 22, 23]. Given these findings, we hypothesized that we could improve access to effective asthma care for underserved children by combining a school-based program and telemedicine to increase access to asthma specialty care.…”