Introduction

The quality of ultrasound images is dependent on operator skill level. Therefore, an automated system is required for situations, such as spaceflight, where a trained sonographer is not present. The current study compared an automated 3D volume capture method of ultrasound assessment (triggered by novices) with respect to teleoperation by sonographer expert (T-echo).

Methods

Ultrasound images were collected from 14 participants (8 male) using a commercial portable echograph with motorized probes for volume capture (3D) and later teleoperated assessment (T-echo). A novice operator positioned the ultrasound probe over the acoustic window (AW) of interest using an AW body mapping with only confirmation of the placement by the distant sonographer, and held the probe stationary for both the 3D assessment and the teleoperated investigation.

Results

There were no differences between the quality of T-echo and 3D images for the majority of structures assessed. Strong relationships were found between the measurements made with both methods (r values between 0.79 and 0.961) with an average difference less than 5% for all parameters measured.

Conclusion

The automated 3D capture method acquired images with minimal effect on measurement values. While this 3D method may not be appropriate for structures that are moving during the volume capture (heart), it does present a functional method of acquiring ultrasound diagnostic images with a distant sonographer only verifying the positioning of the ultrasound probe on the AW. With software (under development) driving automatically the novice hand directly to the AW the 3D echography, will be fully automated.

中文翻译：

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3D 体积捕获，用于新手操作员对各种器官和血管的超声评估

介绍

超声图像的质量取决于操作者的技能水平。因此，在没有训练有素的超声医师在场的情况下，例如太空飞行，需要一个自动化系统。目前的研究比较了超声评估（由新手触发）的自动 3D 体积捕获方法与超声专家远程操作（T-echo）的对比。

方法

使用带有用于体积捕获 (3D) 和后来的远程操作评估 (T-echo) 的电动探头的商用便携式超声仪从 14 名参与者（8 名男性）中收集超声图像。一名新手操作员使用 AW 身体映射将超声探头定位在感兴趣的声学窗口 (AW) 上，仅由远处的超声医师确认放置，并保持探头静止以进行 3D 评估和远程操作调查。

结果

对于大多数评估的结构，T-echo 和 3D 图像的质量没有差异。两种方法的测量结果之间存在密切的关系（r 值在 0.79 和 0.961 之间），所有测量参数的平均差异小于 5%。

结论

自动 3D 捕获方法获取的图像对测量值的影响最小。虽然这种 3D 方法可能不适合在体积捕获期间移动的结构（心脏），但它确实提供了一种功能性方法，可让远处的超声医师仅验证超声探头在 AW 上的定位来获取超声诊断图像。使用软件（正在开发中）自动驱动新手手直接到 AW 的 3D 回波，将是完全自动化的。