3D Telemedicine RCT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
3D Telemedicine Randomised Crossover Trial
IRAS ID
312329
Contact name
Steven Lo
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
West of Scotland Innovation Hub
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
A paradigm shift has occurred in remote clinical communication as a result of the Covid pandemic. A large proportion of clinical consultations now take place by telephone or telemedicine. These fail to adequately substitute for a face-to-face consultation, with the NHS needing higher quality, more clinically effective methods of remote patient interaction. This project will be the world's first evaluation of a novel, potentially transformative form of 3D telemedicine, facilitating telepresence as if the patient were actually in the room. This state-of-the-art system has been developed by Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, USA, specifically to help with remote patient communication during Covid pandemic. This uses an array of 3D cameras to allow reconstruction of a 3D patient image in real time. This may give clinicians more information about a patient’s condition, particularly in medical specialties with a strong visual emphasis such as Plastic Surgery.
This study will provide definitive answers to whether a 3D telemedicine system makes a remote consultation more similar to meeting a doctor face-to-face, than a 2D Telemedicine consultation. This will be measured using a “Presence” scale, which is a measure of the realism or immersion of the telemedicine system. This is of key importance to patients as data from our feedback study found that realism of a clinical consultation correlates strongly with patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is seen by many healthcare systems as primary evidence of efficacy of treatment and as a strong determinant of overall health outcomes. Further outcome measures in this trial will assess patient satisfaction, usability, and mental effort. The study will be a randomised crossover trial, which will give one of the highest levels of evidence to support the future use of 3D Telemedicine in a clinical setting, and may benefit patients with burns, major traumatic injuries, and cancer reconstruction.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
22/WS/0076
Date of REC Opinion
5 Jul 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion