Reviews and News on Ultrasound Machines

In the rapidly evolving field of rheumatology, portable ultrasound machines used to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases that affect the joints and soft tissues of the body. Thanks to recent advancements in Power Doppler ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), effective imaging techniques have enabled doctors to help patients find relief from the chronic inflammation associated with rheumatic diseases.

The benefits of these recent advancements include the ability to view ultrasound images in full color, with the Power Doppler giving clinicians virtual “map” of affected tissues. The color is a measurement related to blood flow, which allows for more accurate assessment of the vascular tissues related to soft tissue inflammation and the detection of soft tissue perfusion.

Doppler ultrasound imaging is able to evaluate the flow of blood as it moves through blood vessels and arteries, particularly within the major passageways of the arms, legs and neck. In addition to its use in rheumatology, Doppler ultrasound machines are also used to diagnose the risk of potential stroke by examining blocked or reduced blood flow through narrowed arteries in the neck. It can also reveal a potential deep vein thrombosis in the veins of the legs before it breaks off and causes a pulmonary embolism in the lungs.
Power Doppler is up to five times more sensitive than regular Doppler imaging, making it ideal for detecting an increase in soft tissue perfusion and monitoring the flow of blood within solid organs. When used within the field of rheumatology, Doppler ultrasound machines allow doctors to better visualize and treat areas of inflammation. As a result, more and more rheumatologists are using it on their patients.

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The average patient may have a hard time imagining how ultrasound machines could play a role in pain management, but that is precisely what pain medicine clinics are focusing on. Using ultrasound guided nerve blocks; pain management specialists can now offer patients a more targeted therapeutic approach.

According to industry insiders, there are three ways in which ultrasound technology can be used to treat chronic pain sufferers. They include therapeutic and diagnostic procedures on nerves, new therapeutic and diagnostic actions on soft tissues, and certain types of injections.

This new form of pain therapy meets many objectives for patients and caregivers. Ideally, ultrasound imaging should produce images of both superficial and deep structures, using the highest possible resolution. It should also be a safe technique for both patient and operator and it should not require additional staff to operate. Medical professionals using ultrasound machines for pain management are looking for ease of use, portability, real-time guidance and compatibility with their existing pain management equipment.

Ultrasound guided peripheral nerve blocks can be done very quickly with no toxic side effects, as their safe needle positioning ensures the block only reaches targeted neuronal structures. The main advantages of this pain management technique are the absence of dangerous radiation and the ability for the practitioner to see the nerves and follow the treatment in real time. The use of ultrasound machines in pain medicine is relatively new, but it has been linked to improved outcomes in therapy and diagnostics.

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How are ultrasound machines providing patients with the option to stay awake during surgery?  Well, to avoid long recovery times and complications from general anesthesia, many new procedures are being done while the patient is fully awake; but it is only possible through the use of ultrasound guided anesthetics.

Now, instead of dealing with side effects from anesthesia and being confined to a hospital bed for days, “awake surgery” is allowing a patient to go home sooner, often on the same day that a surgery was performed.  This new technology is making routine operations safer and more efficient, especially for people who are at high risk of complications from general anesthesia.

Using a regional ultrasound procedure, local anesthetic can be administered to block nerve endings within the area of surgery.  This is just another example of an innovative technique that uses ultrasound technology in a new way, and recent advances in compact ultrasound machines have made this type of procedure more accessible to the general population.

This type of surgery requires an injection, which takes between 20 and 40 minutes to go into effect.  In surgeries of the hand or upper limbs, this injection is made in the nerves of the brachial plexus, which results in the arm becoming immobilized and completely numb.   In lower limb procedures, an injection is given in the sciatic nerves, either behind the knee or under the buttocks.  Depending on the type of drug used, patients can feel numb for up to 18 hours and get relief from post-surgical pain for up to 24 hours.

“Awake surgery” using ultrasound machines is still used primarily in procedures on the limbs, but it has also been used for heart and brain surgery.  Only time will tell how widely this procedure will be used in the surgical suite, but based on the results thus far it is here to stay.

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As ultrasound machines become more technologically advanced, so does the technology that goes into them, and one company is moving to the forefront creating solutions for the medical imaging industry. Samplify is a company based in Shenzhen, China, known for their wide range of optimized, high-performance medical imaging technology for OEMs.

In a recent press release, the company announced the launch of a new “beamforming” technology that will provide added flexibility for ultrasound machine OEMs. Their AutoFocus™ product will allow for a differentiated approach to creating the algorithms within software system design, and this product can be implemented within all types of ultrasound machines, from low-powered handhelds to cart-style ultrasound machines.

The biggest news about their new beam forming technology is how it allows for a phased array of imaging techniques within a variety of machine types, most of which could otherwise only afford a single algorithm due to power and cost constraints. With Samplify’s highly configurable platform, manufacturers of ultrasound machines can now take advantage of lower power usage and cost savings while differentiating their core product lines.

The new technology works by integrating an auto-focus engine that can refocus the ultrasound’s receiver automatically. This allows for images to be captured at different depths without the delay involved in recalculating and downloading data on the back-end computer. Using their QuadBeam feature, ultrasound machines made with this new beamforming technology can scan four scan-lines simultaneously, allowing for better lateral resolution and geometric definition. Not only will this innovation provide flexibility and speed for the customer, it will also consume up to 90% less power than FPGA devices.

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