M3 - Mobile Medical Mentor
Mobile Medical Mentor (M3) project is an attempt to take advantage of the rapid development of video conferencing technologies towards improving current telemedicine practices. The project sheds light on the use of web-based video conferencing within healthcare, mostly exploring surgical telementoring use case.
Background
Video conferencing (VC) in the domain of medicine is a common tool nowadays. It is highly utilized in specialist communication within the Norwegian healthcare system. Years of work and investment have created a secure real-time communication platform, which is appreciate by the healthcare professionals.
Regardless the widespread use of VC in daily activities in the hospital, inclusion of ad-hoc participants in the sessions have remained limited. The IT department needs to install the VC specific software to client's devices and configure the access to the network. It becomes a major usability bottleneck, especially in emergency situations or including the patient into VC-based telemedical practices.
To lower the usability threshold for the end user a web-based VC infrastructure was established. It provides a hardware/software-agnostic link, enabling the user to join the conversation "by a single click" using a device of his choice. In addition, it serves as a gateway for other telemedical applications, supplying VC functionality as a service.
Project Description
The Mobile Medical Mentor (M3) project utilizes the developed infrastructure in surgical telementoring scenario. It implements VC link between the laparoscopic surgery rack and remote domain expert, which is unavailable on site on the critical moment. The advantages of the techniques have been discussed in the literature, however, minor attention has been paid to the infrastructure to support it and utility of features like telestration. The experiments within the project helps understanding the potential of telementoring and structuring it for the integration into daily surgical practices.
Project Partners
University Hospital of North Norway and the University of Tromsø.
Publications
[1], [1]–[12]
[1] A. Budrionis, Web-Based Surgical Telementoring. Service design and evaluation of the key features. UiT Norges arktiske universitet, 2015.
[2] A. Budrionis, G. Hartvigsen, and J. G. Bellika, “Camera Movement during Telementoring and Laparoscopic Surgery: Challenges and Innovative Solutions,” in Proceedings from The Scandinavian Health Informatics Conference 2015, Tromsø, Norway, 2015, pp. 1–5.
[3] A. Budrionis, P. Hasvold, G. Hartvigsen, and J. G. Bellika, “Assessing the impact of telestration on surgical telementoring: A randomized controlled trial,” J. Telemed. Telecare, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 12–17, Jan. 2016.
[4] A. Budrionis, G. Hartvigsen, R. O. Lindsetmo, and J. G. Bellika, “What device should be used for telementoring? Randomized controlled trial,” Int. J. Med. Inf., vol. 84, no. 9, pp. 715–723, 2015.
[5] A. Budrionis, P. Hasvold, G. Hartvigsen, and J. G. Bellika, “Moving Telementoring to the Web,” in International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, Fukuoka, Japan, 2014, vol. 9, Issue 1 Supplement, pp. 279–280.
[6] A. Budrionis, G. Hartvigsen, and J. G. Bellika, “Are Mobile Devices Ready for Telementoring? A Protocol Design for Randomized Controlled Trials,” in eTELEMED 2014, The Sixth International Conference on eHealth, Telemedicine, and Social Medicine, Barcelona, Spain, 2014, pp. 197–200.
[7] A. Budrionis, K. M. Augestad, H. R. Patel, and J. G. Bellika, “An Evaluation Framework for Defining the Contributions of Telestration in Surgical Telementoring,” Interact. J. Med. Res., vol. 2, no. 2, p. e14, Jul. 2013.
[8] A. Budrionis, K. M. Augestad, and J. G. Bellika, “Telementoring as a Service,” in Scandinavian Conference on Health Informatics 2013, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2013.
[9] K. M. Augestad et al., “Surgical telementoring in knowledge translation--clinical outcomes and educational benefits: a comprehensive review,” Surg. Innov., vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 273–281, Jun. 2013.
[10] A. Budrionis, K. M. Augestad, and J. G. Bellika, “Telestration in Mobile Telementoring,” in eTELEMED 2013, The Fifth International Conference on eHealth, Telemedicine, and Social Medicine, Nice, France, 2013, pp. 307–309.
[11] A. Budrionis, K. M. Augestad, H. R. Patel, and J. G. Bellika, “Towards Requirements for Telementoring Software,” in Scandinavian Conference on Health Informatics 2012, Linköping, Sweden, 2012.
[12] K. M. Augestad, T. Chomutare, J. G. Bellika, A. Budrionis, R.-O. Lindsetmo, and C. P. Delaney, “Clinical and Educational Benefits of Surgical Telementoring,” in Simulation Training in Laparoscopy and Robotic Surgery, H. R. H. Patel and J. V. Joseph, Eds. London: Springer London, 2012, pp. 75–89.