Teleradiology Program for Frail Patients Living at Home or in Nursing-homes

Transporting radiology to the patient's home is challenging. Preliminary experiences conducted in Turin (Italy) and Lund (Sweden) indicate that the coupling of simple, light-weight X-ray equipments with a Computed radiography or Digital Radiography systems could be effective for externalization of radiographic service. The image and examination quality has been proved to be the same than those performed with a stationary equipment and analysis on safety of radio-protection systems show a very low risk exposure for health staff as well as for the general population. Mobile radiography in nursing homes has shown to be technically feasible and the most beneficial results were that patients avoided unnecessary transport back and forth to the hospital; in both experiences the majority of patients could be treated locally. The key points of RADHOME project are two: 1. The first one is to built a network model, with the aim to disseminate clinical use of domiciliary radiology. 2. The second one is to demonstrate clinical efficiency and cost-effectiveness of domiciliary radiology.