Evaluation of Fetal Ultrasound Telemedicine Service
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving prenatal diagnosis and management in Cumbria by fetal ultrasound telemedicine - evaluation of a telemedicine service innovative
IRAS ID
158504
Contact name
Vikki J Snaith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
Ultrasound scanning is routinely used during pregnancy to identify babies who are ‘at-risk’ (e.g. a fetal anomaly or small baby). At present, when a problem is detected by an ultra-sonographer at consultant-led maternity units in Cumbria, the mother is referred to the regional Fetal Medicine (FM) Centre in Newcastle for confirmation of the diagnosis, counselling and management. For some women this entails 6 hours of travelling at their own expense. Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance, and has been shown in studies to successfully provide Fetal Medicine services. An innovation project will establish a videoconferencing infrastructure between the obstetric ultrasound department at West Cumberland Hospital (WCH) and the FM unit at Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), Newcastle upon Tyne. It aims to determine the technical success of the service and evaluate the success of the telemedicine service as a means of training local sonographers in two advanced ultrasound techniques that, currently, are not available in Cumbria. In conjunction with this project, an evaluation study involving a questionnaire survey and 10-15 telephone interviews with willing participants aims to assess parental views of the telemedicine service including an assessment of family costs.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1671
Date of REC Opinion
10 Sep 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion