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Remote Guidance for eFAST Training Using a Head-Mounted Device
Sponsor: Philipp Fürnstahl
Summary
This study looks at the best way to remotely teach and guide doctors-in-training to perform a bedside ultrasound exam called eFAST (extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma), which is used to quickly check injured patients for internal bleeding or air around the lungs. The study takes place in a simulation setting, with no real patients. Resident physicians who have completed the basic ultrasound courses each watch the same short instructional video and then perform three eFAST examinations on the same healthy volunteer. Participants are randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) the instructional video only, with no live help; (2) the video plus real-time audio guidance from a remote expert who can see the live ultrasound image; or (3) the video plus guidance through a head-mounted device that also lets the expert see the participant's own point of view. Afterwards, experts who were not involved in a given exam review the recorded ultrasound images, without knowing which group the participant was in, and rate the image quality and skill. The study also measures how long the exams take, the participants' workload, and the comfort and usability of the system. The goal is to learn whether real-time remote guidance, and in particular guidance through a head-mounted device, helps trainees produce better and faster eFAST examinations than an instructional video alone.
Official title: Remote Guidance for eFAST Training Using a Head-Mounted Device: A Three-Arm Randomized Simulation Study
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
75
Start Date
2026-07
Completion Date
2027-06
Last Updated
2026-07-07
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Standardized instructional eFAST video
All participants watch the same brief standardized instructional eFAST video and receive a short standardized introduction to the ultrasound system, then perform three consecutive complete eFAST examinations on a standardized healthy volunteer. In the video-only arm this is the only instruction; no live expert guidance is provided during the examinations.
Real-time audio remote expert guidance (Microsoft Teams)
A remote emergency-ultrasound expert joins the session via Microsoft Teams, views the participant's live ultrasound image in real time (streamed from the GE system to a study laptop that shares it in the call), and provides verbal, audio-only guidance during the eFAST examinations. The expert does not see the participant's point of view. Guidance is real-time only.
Head-mounted-device remote expert guidance (Arc 3, RealWear)
In addition to the live ultrasound image shared via Microsoft Teams, the participant wears the Arc 3 head-mounted device (RealWear), which transmits their point-of-view video to the remote expert in the same Teams call. The expert sees both the point-of-view stream and the live ultrasound image and gives real-time guidance; the participant can see the expert's video on the head-mounted display.
Locations (1)
Balgrist Campus, University Hospital Balgrist
Zurich, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland