title: Portable and attachable tele-echography robot system: FASTele.
abstract: The purpose of this report is to propose portable and attachable tele-echography robot system: FASTele. Focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) is important for patients who have shock by internal bleeding. However, the patient has little time, and transportation to a hospital may take too long. A system which enables FAST more quickly is required. Therefore, we aim to develop a tele-echography (FAST) robot system that can be used by a paramedic easily for shock patient in ambulance or at injury scene. To develop the system, portability and usability (for paramedic) are significant issues. We developed a tele-echography robot system which has 4-DOF. The robot is attached to each roughly FAST areas of patient body (body-based set up) and remotely fine-tuned position by a specialist in a hospital. The robot can control the posture of probe by curvature rails. The mechanism that maintains passively the contact force between the probe and patient's body surface by using springs enables the robot small and lightweight. Feasibility experiments of FAST are reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Creative Science and Engineering, School of Modern Mechanical Engineering, Waseda University, 17 Kikui-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo,162-0044, Japan. itokei-1985@sugano.mech.waseda.ac.jp
authors.forename: Keiichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugano
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwata
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D012371:Robotics; D012769:Shock / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013686:Telemetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*