Expanding interventional oncology services with the use of remote proctorship

ABSTRACT

Learning Objectives: Demonstrate the use of tele-medicine in remote proctorship when performing procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Background(s) Tumour ablation is a growing field within Interventional Radiology, providing a minimally invasive option in the treatment of renal, hepatic, lung and bone lesions. While the practice of tumour ablation is rapidly gaining acceptance, the expertise is still largely concentrated within specialist centres. Until recently, the few experienced practitioners could travel to support other clinicians in performing these procedures but the recent pandemic has halted this practice. We present our experience of remote proctorship in the expansion of our oncology services, offering our patients minimally invasive therapeutic options as part of their oncology care. Procedure Details Seven ablation cases were performed over four days with virtual assistance via the Proximie platform. Cameras were used to relay the live operating field to the proctor. The intra-procedural CT images displayed in theatre were also directly linked and the addition of a tablet with an encrypted video link allowed the proctor to be seen by the operators. The proctor used integrated augmented reality tools to point, annotate and demonstrate on the screen in theatre in real time and a closed 2- way communication system was used between the operators and proctor to facilitate a dialogue throughout the procedure. Conclusion(s) The use of novel remote proctorship technology enables physicians to continue to be to able offer patients cutting edge technological advancements safely, at a time when on site presence is limited by the COVID-19 pandemic.