Mobile teleconsulting can evaluate stroke patients

Mobile teleconsulting is a feasible way to evaluate remotely located patients who have just had a stroke, according to a report in the current issue of the journal Stroke. Although researchers found that hospital-based, land-line systems still provide better quality communication. In a study involving 2 stroke centers and 14 local hospitals in Germany, investigators analyzed telephone consultations performed at fixed telemedicine workstations using high-speed Internet connections and laptops that could be taken to remote sites. Specifically, the researchers compared the technical parameters, acceptability, and impact on immediate clinical decisions of consultations performed with the mobile vs land-line devices. The teleconsultants reported that the process took longer when the laptops were used, despite almost identical download time measurements. They also rated the video and audio quality to be better with the hospital-based system. Although the technical quality of the mobile communication was rated worse on both sides, "this did not affect the ability to make remote decisions like initiating thrombolysis," a "clot-busting" drug treatment for stroke, and the mobile system was technically stable.