Robot-assisted Teleultrasound Assessment of Cardiopulmonary Function on a Patient with Confirmed COVID-19 in a Cabin Hospital

Real-time ultrasound imaging has been used for the evaluation of pulmonary abnormalities and other complications during the outbreak of COVID-19. However, conventional ultrasound examination requires operators to conduct scanning either in the examination room or patient ward, which may increase the potential infective risk. Tele-operated ultrasound robotics can provide a unique technique for doctors to remotely scan patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we attempted to apply a 5G network-based scanning robot to conduct remote ultrasound examination on COVID-19 patients and to explore the feasibility of this technique for teleultrasound diagnosis and consultation during critical infectious situations.