CardiAssist Improving Cardiac Telediagnosis by Enabling Systems
and 3D Ultrasound
by Thomas Berlage
The European project CardiAssist aims at the support of cardiac diagnosis
and telecooperation based on three-dimensional ultrasound images. The project
integrates three developments: 'EchoSignal' improved image quality
for 3D ultrasound, 'EchoVol' an enabling system to provide spatial
and diagnostic orientation and 'EchoCom' 3D ultrasound images as
a communication medium between cardiologists and surgeons. The system will
be implemented on three industrial platforms: a new-generation ultrasound
scanner, an add-on device for existing scanners and a stand-alone training
platform.
Teleconsultation plays an increasingly important role in medicine. It
enables physicians to verify a diagnosis together with a remote colleague
without sending the patient to another examination. It provides a seamless
connection between diagnosis and treatment when these are in separate locations.
Teleconsultation is vital in emergency situations or in rural areas when
no specialist is available.
Cardiological telediagnosis needs three-dimensional ultrasound,
because 2D images depend on the transducer position during acquisition,
which is difficult to control remotely. 3D image data sets provide more
flexibility in asynchronous exploration of the images for efficient trans-national
information exchange and remote consultation between specialized centers
or peripheral hospitals.
Figure: EchoCom uses patient images and models to provide visual context
in communication between cardiologist and heart surgeon.
EchoCom uses patient images and models to provide visual context in
communication between cardiologist and heart surgeon.
A fundamental problem of current 3D ultrasound imaging technology is
the high degree of expertise required to interpret the images, both because
of the relatively poor image quality and because of corresponding orientation
problems in the 3D data set.
CardiAssist combines the improved 3D ultrasound images with animated
graphical models reflecting the location and viewing angle to provide much
more intuitive image interpretation and communication.
The main result of the project will be a new diagnostic platform for
cardiology to be used by medical professionals (cardiologists and surgeons)
of different forms of expertise.
For the cardiologist, CardiAssist makes diagnosis faster and more accurate,
because it provides a better orientation in the clinical reality dominated
by time pressure and long working hours. The clinical benefits of 3D/4D
echocardio-graphy are:
- better delineation of pathology through visualization of any desired
imaging plane
- better description of complex anatomy by dynamic 3D displays
- more comprehensive surgical planning
- accurate quantification of volumes, function and geometry.
The CardiAssist system will also improve the communication between cardiologists
and surgeons, giving the surgeon a much more detailed orientation about
the patient's situation.
Finally, the CardiAssist technology will improve continuous medical
education and quality assurance, because interaction with and communication
through the heart model convey many forms of cardiological expertise. As
the manufacturers of ultrasound imaging instruments move into more and
more specialized domains, training needs increase. Embedded training and
support systems reduce the support costs for these specialized devices.
The consortium, coordinated by GMD, consists of
- manufacturers of ultrasound scanners: VINGMED Sound (Norway), TomTec,
SONOTRON (Germany)
- research partners: GMD, SINTEF
- medical experts and users: Pediatric Cardiology Bonn (Germany), Thorax
Center Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Clinico Santa Maria Lisbon (Portugal).
The project is partially funded by the European Union in the Health
Care Telematics program (HC1004). The project started in January 1996 and
will be concluded in 1998 by a clinical demonstration in a number of European
hospitals. More info at http://www.gmd.de/fit/projects/cardi-assist.html
Please contact:
Thomas Berlage - GMD
Tel: +49 2241 2141
E-mail: berlage@gmd.de
