Practical evaluation of standard-based low-cost video conferencing in telemedicine and epidemiological applications

The results of the evaluation of use of low-cost video conferencing systems (VCSs) in telemedicine is presented. Application sharing, a new feature of these systems, recently has allowed high-quality computer-supported collab orative work (CSCW). The video conferencing (VCing) equipment used was Inte l(TM) ProShare 200(TM) v2.0a. It is representative of other low-cost VCSs. The areas of application are epidemiology and telemedicine (orthopaedics an d radiology). Potential end users filled out 58 evaluation questionnaires c oncerning user profiles, contents and benefits of the sessions, organizatio nal aspects, user friendliness, user acceptance, cost effectiveness, techni cal and multipoint related aspects. Although the end users had a lot of com puter experience, their knowledge in VCSs was rather limited. The users ass essed the system capable of being integrated into routine work, despite a h igh organizational impact. The VCS is user friendly, application sharing be ing used in almost every session. Audio quality was not always sufficient. The remote video was sufficient, as was the quality of medical images such as CT, MRI or X-ray. The user acceptance of the system was high. Multipoint sessions require a structured protocol to be effective. Some technical pro blems with MCUs (Multipoint Control Units) occurred. The use of low-cost st andard VCSs in telemedicine is advisable and is a good substitute for real meetings.