Radiology Goes 4g

4G networks allow radiologists to download and upload images 10 times faster. With the new technology, 4G offers a way for radiologists to do preliminary reads or image demonstrations on Smartphones and iPads. It wont replace actually reading the image with the more sophisticated imaging equipment, but it allows radiologists the flexibility to view a quickie.

Radiology goes 4G

For on-call radiologists, this may be useful if they need to do a quick preliminary evaluation of imaging. But diagnostic resolution is still needed at a desktop-based computer in the end, said Dr. Garry Choy, founder of RadRounds, a radiology networking site. I use my cell phone and iPad for images, but not to interpret them. I demonstrate images to colleagues or patients.

Verizon Wireless could be the leader of the pack in the race for mobile medical image uploading. According to John Maschenic, Director of Enterprise Solutions for Healthcare and Retail at Verizon, the new 4G networks speed will enable medical teams the ability to download and upload images much more quickly. Tasks that were once just hospital oriented tasks can be performed from the doctors home or on the road. If you think about where technology was just 10 years ago with many users only having dial-up connections, 4G is a really big deal. As more and more applications are available for Smartphones, tablets, and pads, mobile medicine will expand exponentially.

Some imageslike chest x-rays where you can use gestures to blow up certain portions, and routine CTsmay allow for wet reads, but real diagnostic work and tough cases I think will need to be viewed on multiple displays or large displays for the time being, Dr. Arun Krishnaraj, a clinical fellow at Harvard said. However, I never thought people would actually watch movies on 3-inch phone screens.

Verizon plans to sell 4G to radiology clinics. Mobile medicine takes on new meaning, allowing access to patient data from remote locations for consultations from one clinic to another. Think of the rural clinics that need a second opinion. Now the doctors can consult with instant image uploads.

Already diagnostic apps for Smartphones are being developed. See my blog Can You Hear Me Cough. Imagine being able to cough into a phone and have the doctor diagnose whether or not you have pneumonia. With 4G speed, who knows where the future of mobile medicine is going. Is this a good thing? You bet! While I dislike the idea that a doctor can actually consult from the golf course, the positive side to that is that if a patient is in critical need of medical treatment, the doctor can see the scan and be prepared by the time the patient gets to the hospital.

How do you feel about mobile medicine? Are you ready for the day when the Smartphone can treat a patient as well as diagnose? Beam me up, Scotty!