Abstract
Social media applications on smartphones allow for new avenues of instruction
in sports medicine and exercise sciences. This study tested the feasibility
of instructing health care personnel through videos of ultrasound vascular
measurements distributed by a social media messenger application. After two
training sessions with an ultrasound device, voluntary physicians
(n=10) and nurses (n=10) received a video for the
performance of an ultrasound-guided determination of intima-media-thickness
and diameter of the femoral arteries via a social media messenger
application. All participants examined the same healthy human subject. There
was no significant difference between the groups regarding overall time of
performance, measurements of the femoral arteries, or a specifically
designed “assessment of mobile imparted arterial ultrasound
determination” score. The physicians group achieved significantly
higher scores in the established “objective structured assessment of
ultrasound skills” score (p=0.019). Approval of the setting
was high in both groups. Transmission of videos via social media
applications can be used for instructions on the performance of
ultrasound-guided vascular examinations in sports medicine, even if
investigators’ performances differ depending on their grade of
ultrasound experience. In the future, the chosen approach should be tested
in practical scientific examination settings.
Key words
instruction - healthcare personnel - social media - ultrasound - video
