New Brunswick, N.J.-based Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital became the first in the U.S. to receive robotic telecardiac ultrasound technology from France for clinical use, the hospital said Feb. 2.
The MELODY robotic teleultrasound system features a robotic arm, an ultrasound machine and video conferencing technology that connects patients with experts at two separate locations.
The technology was tested Jan. 24 when experts in Naveil, France, connected to cardiologists at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The team performed several hours of transatlantic diagnostic ultrasound imaging in real time over a cellular network and followed up with successful ultrasounds the next day.
"Many cardiovascular diseases remain undetected for a long time and can be silent killers," stated Partho Sengupta, MD, cardiologist at Robert Woods Johnson University Hospital. "Combining robotic teleultrasound technology with new and existing AI capabilities will provide us with a tremendous opportunity for early detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease in our communities and help us save lives."
The cardiology team will work with sonographers over the next two months to implement the technology in clinical care and make it available to the public later this year.