Experiment of Wireless Tele-echography System by Controlling Echographic Diagnosis Robot

We have developed a wireless tele-echography system for controlling an echographic diagnosis robot (EDR) that was developed in our laboratory. The examiner can control the robot at a distance from the patient and obtains both an image of the patient's status and an echogram of the internal organs. The locations of the examiner and the patient are connected by a wireless network. Remote control was realized by means of the Object Request Broker technique. By this experiment, we have thus verified the usefulness of our system for clinical practice. Remote diagnosis of an echogram with sufficient image quality was possible after a skilled examiner had become used to controlling the robot. The adult patient never felt any discomfort or pain from the robot. Since the maximum bandwidth required by this system was 1Mbps, we have confirmed that wireless tele-echography can become a reality in tele-medicine and telecare.