Smartphones Show Promise in Emergency Radiology

Handheld devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the iPod Touch are being used extensively among doctors. However, a recent study shows that these devices may be particularly useful for emergency radiologists, who in the near future, may be able to use them for teleconsultation and emergency procedures, according to new research.

The value of these devices in medicine is evident. Forty-six percent of attending physicians and trainees and 45% of radiologists use PDAs. "Although the benefits of handheld devices in the daily routine of clinicians is not under debate, the accurate display of medical images is disputed and has not been extensively researched,” said Dr. Rachel J. Toomey, lead author of the study and researcher at the University College Dublin School of Medicine and Medical Science (Dublin, Ireland).

Researchers compared the diagnostic efficacy of a PDA and iPod Touch against that of secondary-class monitors for each of two image types--wrist radiographs and images from computed tomography (CT) imaging of the brain. About 168 readings by examining radiologists of the American Board of Radiology (Tucson, AZ, USA) were collected. "In the PDA brain CT study, the scores of PDA readings were significantly higher than those of monitor readings when all observers' readings are taken into account. No statistically significant differences between handheld device and monitor findings were found for the PDA wrist images or in the iPod Touch devices studies, although some comparisons did approach significance,” said Dr. Toomey.

The research was published in the February 2010 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR). "This study showed that important clinical information about a patient's condition can be made available to clinicians through display of radiologic images on handheld devices. This finding extends the potential of the devices beyond current applications such as teaching residents and organizing clinical commitments. The results suggest that the handheld devices investigated in this study may be comparable with secondary monitors for reporting findings on intracranial bleeds on CT images and fractured wrists on radiographs and may be of value in radiology, particularly for teleconsultation and emergency procedures,” concluded Dr. Toomey.

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University College Dublin School of Medicine and Medical Science