Key result
Teleoperated robotic probe enables non-clinicians to obtain prone-position echocardiograms in ~1 minute.
Why the study?
Manual echocardiography probe manipulation is strenuous and introduces measurement variability, prompting the need for a teleoperated robot that reduces physical strain and minimizes infection risk during the COVID pandemic.
A novel teleoperated robotic probe manipulator for prone-position echocardiography demonstrated feasibility in obtaining cardiac images in under one minute by a non-clinician.
Feasibility of non-clinician robotic echocardiography shown; leaves open clinical validation and outcome impact.
Echocardiography probe manipulation is a strenuous task. During a procedure, the operator must hold the probe, extend their arm, bend their elbow, and monitor the resulting image simultaneously, which causes strain and introduces variability to the measurement. We propose a teleoperated probe manipulation robot to reduce the burden of handling the probe and minimize the infection risk during the COVID pandemic. The proposed robot utilizes prone position scanning that could enlarge the cardiac windows for easier scanning and eliminate the risk of the robot pressing down on the patient. We derived the robot's requirements based on a real clinical scenario. Initial evaluation showed that the robot could achieve the required range of motion, force, and control. The robot's functionality was tested by a non-clinician, in which the tester could obtain heart images of a volunteer in under one minute.
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Gifari et al. (2022) studied Echocardiography (n=1). Teleoperated probe manipulation robot was evaluated on Ability to obtain heart images. A proposed teleoperated probe manipulation robot for prone-position echocardiography enabled a non-clinician to successfully obtain heart images of a volunteer in under one minute.
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