Remote Lung Ultrasound through iPhone and Skype

Studies have indicated that at least two common life threatening conditons, Apnea (APN) and pneumothorax (PTX), can be reliably identified through use of ultrassound and an iphone. Both APN and PTX may be ruled out by visualizing respiratory motion at the visceral-parietal pleural interface known as lung sliding (LS), corroborated by either the M-mode or color-power Doppler depiction of LS.

In the study ultrasound images were obtained through a handheld unit and streamed through Skype to an iphone. Remote expert sonographers then directed remote providers to obtain images by viewing the transmitted ultrasound signal and consulting with the remote examiner over a head-mounted webcam. Examinations were conducted between a series of remote sites (among them a number of mountain locations and a small moving plane) and a fixed base station.

The results obtained demonstrated that in all lung fields on all occasions LS could easily and quickly ne identified.

NCBI abstract