Teleconsulting in echocardiography using a standard cable on HDSL

Background. Teleconsultation in echocardiography is complex owing to the heavy images and video files to be exchanged; moreover standards for data acquisition still need to be defined. The aim of this experience was to verify the feasibility to connect two laboratories for teleconsulting using a standard HDSL telephone cable. Methods. Hardware included one echocardiograph, one PC, video aquisition board and network board, USB webcam, Network router and an HDSL line for data communication. Software includes MS Windows XP and Netmeeting. The live interactivity between the labs was granted by a video streaming in MPEG4 format, directly delivered by the PC communication software. Standard DICOM was used for formal aspects. The platform has been verified during a demo at "National Congress of Cardiovascular Echography" in 2005. Results. The experiment survey collected at the Teleconference gave a consistently good result. Twenty-one subjects filled in the questionnaire: 12 of them (57%) reported a difference between the video streaming and DICOM; whereas 7 of them (33%) did not point out it. Overall findings have been positive, even though 15 members (71%) reported feasibility with some difficulties; 18 members (86%) reported the possibility of really using this technology in the future. The total cost was 145 000 €. Conclusions. In our opinion, overall cost is more than acceptable especially considering how often to send data is more convenient than moving sick people or consultants.