Ultrasound in not only confined to hospitals with bulky equipments and reliable power supplies. Now, to perform an ultrasound test a new system has been emerged that is a machine miniaturized to the size of a laptop computer.
This compact design of machine that offers more accurate image quality enables physicians to carry this body-imaging technology to rural U.S and for other developing countries where masses face difficulties to reach hospitals at the time of pregnancy or in the cases of other dangerous disease in which ultrasound is required.
Portable ultrasound units have grown rapidly in the past two years and it’s expected that it will soon become an integral part of the ultrasound market. This portable system is subjugated by SonoSite Inc. of Bothell, Wash., and GE Healthcare, based in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa whereas SonoSite pioneered the technology of hand-carried units in 1999.
Ultrasound is important because it produces synchronized images of a beating heart or developing fetus by interpreting sound waves bounced off solid internal objects. However there are many other techniques to explore inside the body without surgery that include - magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - systems that yield vivid results but its scans require the patient to lay still for minutes and X-rays that is mainly used to produce images of bones, but it also generates harmful radiations.
Ultrasound also has its own shortcomings because its effectiveness depends on operators to position patients accurately to reveal the best views and for doctors image quality is the main criteria.
According to Dr.Craig Sable of the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.:
The newer compact units can now produce images comparable to those of the higher-end console units about 90 percent of the time
Though these portable battery-operated machines, are not anticipated to swap standard console-sized units but these compact machines are proving more popular among doctors outside the traditional areas of radiology, cardiology and prenatal care to get more accurate results of the patient’s condition.
Via: Yahoo
