Ultrasound Machines Move Out of the Lab
It was only a matter of time before ultrasound machines joined the vast array of medical devices that can be worn around the neck or carried around in a pocket. An extraordinarily small ultrasound made by Signostics has achieved the feat of being reduced to a lightweight eight ounces while still including all of the needed data converters, amplifiers, processing and circuits found in much larger models.
Other than our national obsession with gadgetry, there are several other factors driving this trend toward miniaturization.
* The medical equipment industry’s first “single IC” USB isolator was introduced in 2009, and it has significantly decreased the design time, size limitations and cost to create an isolated USB solution.
* Patients have demanded ways to monitor their own health without the need for frequent trips to the doctor’s office, especially since many doctors are already overbooked.
* Palm-sized ultrasound devices (like the Signos by Signostics) are capable of producing high-resolution imaging with a simple touch-screen display and the ability to store up to 10,000 images. The technology used here is reminiscent of a smart phone, both in size and ease of use.
* When doctors are moving from one room to the next, it is easy for them to carry a Signos around their neck like a stethoscope or keep it in their pocket until the next use.
* Unlike larger ultrasound machines, which use multiple transducers and a more complex circuitry, the pocket-sized Signos uses only one transducer, which is controlled by hand movements, to generate a high resolution image.
This miniaturized version of an ultrasound machine is so new that it’s still too early to tell how it will impact the use of large machines in a clinical setting, but it will certainly be an interesting trend to watch.
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