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=11

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=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>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.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>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.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>A total of 546 subjects were included with the most frequently diagnosed being abdominal disorders (<italic>n</italic> = 343) and male reproductive illnesses (<italic>n</italic> = 97), of which fatty liver (<italic>n</italic> = 204) and prostatic calcification (<italic>n</italic> = 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 (<italic>p</italic> = 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.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>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.</p></sec>