Internet-based transfer of cardiac ultrasound images

A drawback to large-scale multicentre studies is the time required for the centralized evaluation of diagnostic images. We evaluated the feasibility o f digital transfer of echocardiographic images to a central laboratory for rapid and accurate interpretation. Ten patients undergoing trans-oesophagea l echocardiographic scanning at three sites had representative single image s and multiframe loops stored digitally. The images were analysed in the or dinary way. AII images were then transferred via the Internet to a central laboratory and reanalysed by a different observer. The file sizes were 1.5- 72 MByte and the transfer rates achieved were 0.6-4.8 Mbit/min. Quantitativ e measurements were similar between most on-site and central laboratory mea surements (all P>0.25), although measurements differed for left atrial widt h and pulmonary venous systolic velocities (both P<0.05). Digital transfer of echocardiographic images and data to a central laboratory may be useful for multicentre trials.