Small Ultrasound Devices Boast Big Features

Two portable ultrasound systems weighing under five pounds offer features previously found only on cart-based ultrasound systems, providing new capabilities for quantitative measurement, enhanced image quality, and versatility in an affordable device.

The two systems, SonoSite 180Plus and SonoHeart, are based on the same platform as the Sonsite 180, from SonoSite, Inc. (Bothell, WA, USA; www.sonosite.com) but offer important new features. These include pulsed wave Doppler, tissue harmonic imaging (THI), M-mode for high resolution assessment of moving structures, electrocardiogram (ECG) capability, and PC direct connectivity. THI can help obstetricians and gynecologists perform fetal scans earlier in a pregnancy, notes SonoSite. The systems are based on miniaturized digital architecture that enables four 1-cm square microchip designs on one small circuit board to replace the 10-20 larger boards common in cart-based, more expensive ultrasound systems.

According to SonoSite surveys, 74% of doctors using SonoSite systems are using ultrasound for the first time. The systems have been used in a wide variety of venues from critical cardiac centers and small practices to remote locations and emergency transport vehicles such as ambulances, helicopters, and airplanes, says the company. Although the two systems are similar, SonoHeart is specially designed for cardiologists for use in echocardiography.

"The advanced capabilities reduce the number of indications where we have to bring a patient to the ultrasound department for a scan with a high-end system,” said Peter L. Cooperberg, M.D., professor of radiology, University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada). "The image quality and depth of penetration of the SonoSite 180Plus system is comparable to high-end ultrasound machines, and the ability to download images to a personal computer is a great advantage.”




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