Lung ultrasound education: simulation and hands-on

Wolstenhulme, Stephen; McLaughlan, James Ross

COVID-19 can cause damage to the lung, which can result in progressive respiratory failure and potential death. Chest radiography and CT are the imaging tools used to diagnose and monitor patients with COVID-19. Lung ultrasound (LUS) during COVID-19 is being used in some areas to aid decision-making and improve patient care. However, its increased use could help improve existing practice for patients with suspected COVID-19, or other lung disease. A limitation of LUS is that it requires practitioners with sufficient competence to ensure timely, safe, and diagnostic clinical/imaging assessments. This commentary discusses the role and governance of LUS during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, and how increased education and training in this discipline can be undertaken given the restrictions in imaging highly infectious patients. The use of simulation, although numerical methods or dedicated scan trainers, and machine learning algorithms could further improve the accuracy of LUS, whilst helping to reduce its learning curve for greater uptake in clinical practice.