Tele-ultrasound in the Era of COVID-19: A Practical Guide

Telemedicine has evolved over the past 50 years, with video consultations and telehealth (TH) mobile apps that are now widely used to support care in the management of chronic conditions, but are infrequently used in acute conditions such as emergencies. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand is growing for video consultations as they minimize health provider-patient interactions and thereby the risk of infection. Advanced applications such as tele-ultrasound (TUS) have not yet gained a foothold despite their achieving technical maturity and the availability of software from numerous companies for TUS for their respective portable ultrasound devices. However, ultrasound is indispensable for triage in emergencies and also offers distinct advantages in the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia for certain patient populations such as pregnant women, children and immobilized patients. Additionally, recent work suggests lung ultrasound can accurately risk stratify patients for likely infection when immediate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing is not available and has prognostic utility for positive patients with respect to the need for admission and intensive care unit (ICU) treatment. Though currently underutilized, a wider implementation of TUS in TH applications and processes may be an important stepping-stone for telemedicine. The addition of ultrasound to TH may allow it to cross the barrier from being an application used mainly for primary care and chronic conditions to an indispensable tool used in emergency care, disaster situations, remote areas and low-income countries where it is difficult to obtain high-quality diagnostic imaging. The objective of this review was to provide an overview of the current state of telemedicine, insights into current and future use scenarios, its practical application as well as current TUS uses and their potential value with an overview of currently available portable and handheld ultrasound devices. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic we point out an unmet need and use case of TUS as a supportive tool for health care providers and organizations in the management of affected patients.