Diagnostic accuracy in remote expert consultation using standard video-conference technology

An international multicenter study (Germany Sweden, and Switzerland) was performed to investigate the feasibility and diagnostic of standard video-conferencing (VC) technology for remote expert consultation in radiology. Three high spatial resolution films (hand-bone, mammography, chest) and two low-spatial-resolution image sets (liver CT and MR1) were studied (total 446 images taken from different examinations).The images were recordedby a video camera transmitted via public broadband networks, and displayed on a video monitor. The resolution of the recorded images varied from 24 lp mm to 4.8 lp/mm at maximum zoom. Alter 3–4 months, the images were reexamined using conventional light-box reading. Diagnostic reliability was evaluated by receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis. With video conferencing, there was a noticeable loss of diagnostic accuracy for the high-spatial-resolution films, whereas for liver CT and liver MRIimages VC reading seemed to be satisfactory (average area value difference < 0.02)

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