Tele-ultrasound imaging using smartphones and single-board PCs

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mobile devices are widely available and their computational performance increases. Nonetheless, medicine should not be an exception: single-board computers and mobile phones are crucial aides in telehealth.

AIM: To explore tele-ultrasound scope using smartphones and single-board computers

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study focused on capturing ultrasound videos using external video recording devices connected via USB. Raspberry Pi single-board computers and Android smartphones have been used as platforms to host a tele-ultrasound server. Used software: VLC, Motion, and USB camera. A remote expert assessment was performed with mobile devices using the following software: VLC acted as a VLC server, Google Chrome for OS Windows 7 and OS Android was used in the remaining scenarios, and Chromium browser was installed on the Raspberry Pi computer.

OUTCOMES: The UTV007 chip-based video capture device produces better images than the AMT630A-based device. The optimum video resolution was 720×576 and 25 frames per second. VLC and OBS studios are considered the most suitable for a raspberry-based ultrasound system owing to low equipment and bandwidth requirements (0.64±0.17 Mbps for VLC; 0.5 Mbps for OBS studio). For Android phone OS, the ultrasound system was set with the USB camera software, although it required a faster network connection speed (5.2±0.3 Mbps).

CONCLUSION: The use of devices based on single-board computers and smartphones implements a low-cost tele-ultrasound system, which potentially improves the quality of studies performed through distance learning and consulting doctors. These solutions can be used in remote regions for “field” medicine tasks and other possible areas of m-health.

Keywords

Tele-ultrasound / telehealth / ultrasound / video capturing

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