%0 Journal Article
%T Potential Use of Remote Telesonography as a Transformational Technology in Underresourced and/or Remote Settings
%A Linping Pian
%A Lawrence M. Gillman
%A Paul B. McBeth
%A Zhengwen Xiao
%A Chad G. Ball
%A Michael Blaivas
%A Douglas R. Hamilton
%A Andrew W. Kirkpatrick
%J Emergency Medicine International
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/986160
%X Mortality and morbidity from traumatic injury are twofold higher in rural compared to urban areas. Furthermore, the greater the distance a patient resides from an organized trauma system, the greater the likelihood of an adverse outcome. Delay in timely diagnosis and treatment contributes to this penalty, regardless of whether the inherent barriers are geographic, cultural, or socioeconomic. Since ultrasound is noninvasive, cost-effective, and portable, it is becoming increasingly useful for remote/underresourced (R/UR) settings to avoid lengthy patient travel to relatively inaccessible medical centers. Ultrasonography is a user-dependent, technical skill, and many, if not most, front-line care providers will not have this advanced training. This is particularly true if care is being provided by out-of-hospital, ¡°nontraditional¡± providers. The human exploration of space has forced the utilization of information technology (IT) to allow remote experts to guide distant untrained care providers in point-of-care ultrasound to diagnose and manage both acute and chronic illness or injuries. This paradigm potentially brings advanced diagnostic imaging to any medical interaction in a setting with internet connectivity. This paper summarizes the current literature surrounding the development of teleultrasound as a transformational technology and its application to underresourced settings. 1. Introduction Despite revolutions and quantum leaps in the development of technology and health care systems, disadvantaged populations, separated from the mainstreams of modern technology by either geography, duty, choice, or fate, bear an increased burden of mortality and morbidity [1]. Such populations in remote/underresourced (R/UR) settings have limited access to the advanced medical health care that is the norm in the developed world. For instance, rural trauma such as the one after motor vehicle accidents may have mortality rates up to three times the national average [2, 3]. Preventable deaths in some rural areas are twice that of urban communities. While this may be explained by delays in transfer to definitive care from remote areas [3], other factors seem to come into play over and above distance alone. Often the homeless, dying within the direct line-of-sight of a major medical center, are as practically separated from potential life-saving care as a climber on Mount Everest, a soldier immobilized by enemy action, or a village dweller in the developing world. In a vacuum of primary and tertiary care, it may be difficult to prioritize what aspects of modern
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/emi/2013/986160/