Accelerated Remote Consultation Tele-POCUS In Cardiopulmonary Assessment (ARCTICA)

Point-of-Care ultrasound (POCUS) is the use of ultrasound at the bedside of patients. It is able to provide a quick and accurate picture of the heart and lungs, and is therefore a powerful tool in the management of patients with common symptoms and conditions. A common clinical scenario where this technology is useful is the assessment of shortness of breath to determine whether the cause is heart- or lung-related. While POCUS devices are now widely available, not all providers have the training and expertise to conduct POCUS. The Goal of ARCTICA is to create a virtual teaching program and consultation service (Tele-POCUS) for providers who currently do not use POCUS in their regular practice. The program will begin at 7 geographically remote sites across Canada where physician learners will be taught using a novel virtual platform that incorporates augmented reality to learn new POCUS skills. To continue their learning and help make sure they are making accurate diagnoses, experts in heart and lung ultrasound will give live video consultations to these learners through a secure video call app. These video consultations will allow the heart and lung ultrasound experts to guide physicians as they diagnose patients directly at the bedside. The exam image quality and the ultrasound skills of the physicians will be graded before and after expert advice is given. Experts at 'hubs' in Kingston, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto (2 sites), Halifax, and Vancouver will be partnered with 'spokes' in the remote regions of Moose Factory, Haida Gwaii, Iqaluit, Sioux Lookout, Sault Ste. Marie, Yarmouth, and Prince George respectively. In this way, the expert knowledge of heart and lung ultrasound specialists can be put into the hands of providers in smaller and underserved hospitals around the country.