Diagnostic Performance of Different Examination Types and Learning Curves of Radiologists for 5G-Based Robot-Assisted Tele-Ultrasonography: A Prospective and Large-Scale Study

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of remotely providing routine ultrasound (US) examinations to patients using a fifth-generation-based robot-assisted tele-ultrasonography (RATU) system in a real-world setting.

Methods: Between September 2020 and May 2021, we conducted a prospective and large-scale study using the RATU system to provide US examinations for patients on a limited-source island locate. An on-site radiologist on the island performed US examinations, which served as the reference diagnosis. Five tele-radiologists then remotely conducted RATU examinations from Central Shanghai. We compared the diagnostic performance of the RATU examinations to that of the on-site US examinations. Additionally, we assessed the learning curves of the various tele-radiologists. We also distributed 2 questionnaires to evaluate the usefulness of the clinical application.

Results: In total, 770 patients were enrolled in the study with a mean age of 55.46 ± 15.02 years (ranging from 19 to 80 years). Out of the total, 501 patients were men, and 269 were women. Across all examination types, the diagnosis in 84.3% (649/770) of RATU examinations was consistent with the on-site US examination. The learning curve was not significantly different between tele-radiologists of different seniority. Furthermore, 86.6% (667/770) of participants accepted the RATU examination, and 97.5% (751/770) of patients were willing to pay a fair price.

Conclusion: RATU's diagnostic performance is still helpful for patients in remote areas, even though it may be slightly inferior to on-site US examination.