Smallest Ultrasound System for Fast Diagnoses

2007-Nov-29 |   In the future, the world’s smallest ultrasound device will enable doctors to make initial diagnoses wherever a patient happens to be at a given moment. Known as the Acuson P10, the device is being presented by Siemens at the Radiological Society of North America’s (RSNA) Technical Exhibition, a leading event held in Chicago, from November 25 to 30. Small enough to fit into a pocket of a doctor’s lab coat, the device is particularly well-suited for use in emergency situations, ambulances, rescue helicopters, and intensive care units.
In emergencies, the first few minutes are often crucial. The sooner a diagnosis can be made, the better the chances of patient recovery. The new handheld ultrasound scanner can be taken along anywhere, and its special lithium-ion batteries provide power for up to one hour of scanning. The doctor can store the images and after transforming them via a DICOM viewer feed them to the hospital’s IT system assigning them to the relevant patient file.

The Acuson P10 is roughly the same size as a Blackberry. The developers at Siemens Medical Solutions not only managed to fit the ultrasound system’s complex components into the miniature device, but also to create high-quality images. As with handheld computers, the user operates the scanner with the thumb. The scanner’s black-and-white monitor measures almost ten centimeters, and the device weighs around 700 grams, including its recording head.

The miniature ultrasound system is particularly helpful during emergency triage, when patients need to be quickly sorted according to the severity of their injuries. The rapid assessment of injuries allows doctors to treat patients quickly and appropriately. The Acuson P10 can also be used for special emergency applications such as abdominal sonography of severely injured patients. In addition to enabling an emergency care physician to determine if the patient is suffering from internal bleeding, for example, it allows the doctor to check the heart rate and find out if fluids have accumulated in the heart. The device also detects life-threatening vascular dilations (aneurysms) and hip bone injuries.

The scanner can also be very useful in maternity wards during childbirth. In the delivery room, the device allows a doctor to determine the position and mobility of a fetus, as well as the quantity of amniotic fluid, and also detect any bleeding or other complications. The Acuson P10 is suited for use not only with human beings, but also by veterinarians.