COMPARISON OF THORACIC RADIOGRAPHS WITH IMAGES TRANSMITTED VIA ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT

Objective-To compare thoracic radiographs of clinically normal dogs an d dogs with mild clinical heartworm disease with images transmitted by a desktop, two-way audiovisual teleconferencing system. Design-Prospe ctive, matched-set study. Study Population-50 thoracic radiographs fro m clinically normal and heartworm-infected dogs and the digitally tran smitted images of those radiographs. Procedure-Thoracic radiographs fr om 25 clinically normal dogs and 25 dogs infected with 1 to 24 heartwo rms were evaluated by 3 clinicians. Using classic criteria for heartwo rm disease, evaluations of radiographs and images transmitted digitall y over 2 highspeed data-transfer telephone lines (56 kilobits/s/line) were performed. Clinicians were asked to determine whether dogs had ra diographic signs of heartworm disease. Results-Clinicians' ability to detect heartworm disease did not differ between interpretations of rad iographs and those of transmitted images. Clinical Implications-Radiog raphic images transmitted via a teleconference system can be used to p rovide reliable diagnostic information. Thoracic radiographs can be in terpreted at a remote site permitting rapid consultation and immediate advice on clinical management.