EU-TeleInViVo: An Integrated Portable Telemedicine Workstation Featuring Acquisition, Processing and Transmission over Low-bandwidth Lines of 3D Ultrasound Volume Images

A transportable telemedicine workstation has been de-signed, developed and evaluated for use in isolated areas such as islands, rural areas and crisis situation areas. The EU-TeleInViVo is a custom-made device integrating in one solid case: a portable PC with telecommunication capabilities and a light, portable 3D ultrasound station. The system developed has low price, low weight, is transportable and non-radiating. The integrated work-station uses advanced software techniques to acquire 3-dimensional ultrasound data of a patient. The device is now being tested in different socio-economic conditions and adjusted accordingly to meet needs of developing countries and countries in transition. It currently comes in two versions, one fully portable, self-containing device, and a workstation version (PC attached to an ultrasound scanner for internal hospital use). A dedicated software package has been developed for the needs of this project, based on the In-ViVo ScanNT software package developed at Fraunhofer IGD. During a teleconsultation both partners, connected over a telecommunications network, are able to share the same interface and perform tasks visible in real-time, even on low bandwidth channels, to both ends on the same data set. The system supports various ways communication, such as Internet, ISDN, common phone lines, GSM, etc.