The American journal of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of display size on ultrasound interpretation.
Ultrasound (US) is an essential component of emergency department patient care. US machines have become smaller and more affordable. Handheld ultrasound (HUS) machines are even more portable and easy to use at the patient's bedside. However, miniaturization may come with consequences. The ability to accurately interpret ultrasound on a smaller screen is unknown. This pilot study aims to assess how screen size affects the ability of emergency medicine clinicians to accurately interpret US videos. ⋯ The study found no statistically significant difference in the accuracy of US interpretation nor time spent interpreting when the pre-selected RUQ videos generated on a cart-based ultrasound machine were reviewed on a phone-sized versus a laptop-sized screen. This pilot study suggests that the accuracy of US interpretation may not be dependent upon the size of the screen utilized.