GE Unveils Handheld Ultrasound Machine

October 21, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt unveils a pocket-sized ultrasound device.

By RACHEL METZ,
AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO--The future of ultrasound technology, as interpreted by General Electric Co., looks a bit like a flip phone crossed with an iPod.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt unveiled a handheld ultrasound machine at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco Tuesday called the Vscan, saying it could become the "stethoscope of the 21st century."

The device folds open clamshell-style to reveal a small screen on the top half and a circular button pad on the bottom. A small attached wand can be used to generate a noninvasive scan of a patient's organs or of a fetus.

The Vscan is aimed in part at primary care doctors, who could use it instead of sending patients to get an ultrasound at a specialist's office. It could also be used by doctors in remote regions without access to hospital equipment.

Immelt said that the device, which will be available sometime next year, will be "very digitally capable" but that it will not have Wi-Fi access to wirelessly transmit ultrasound images.

The cost of the device is unknown.

During the summit, Immelt declined to elaborate on the possibility that Fairfield, Conn.-based GE will sell a stake in its NBC Universal entertainment division to cable TV operator Comcast Corp. or any other company. He said that GE is "comfortable" with the division.

Tags:: science,; technology

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Is the future for routine medical exams. Sure these handheld devices will not have the resolution and features of the big machines, but they will be great to triage gross pathology at the point of care. Once something is discovered by one of these handhled units, the patients will be reffered to a radiology center for a regular exam by a certified sonographer/radiologist.

Rafael Vega of FL 12:55PM December 17, 2010

First of all, there are plenty of physicians capable of accurately reading ultrasound images and are properly trained and credentialed. Ultrasound technologists are not MD's and do not have the same training and are not the "only people" capable of performing ultrasound. That is like saying a phlebotomist is the only person skilled enough to draw blood. US techs are trained to acquire accurate images and this requires basic skills at interpreting images. Second, there are no "proven" effects on the brains of babies. There are studies regarding Doppler imaging energies and mice brains, so I think it should be considered and studied to make sure it does not have adverse effects on a human fetus. This could easily become a very basic and useful tool in multiple specialties.

Noel Hastings of CA 11:54AM June 14, 2010

Nice, but too small probably to see subtle detail...should not take the place of regular ultrasound....primary care docs cannot read ultrasounds,...that is done by radiologists usually, (obstetricians and vascular physicians also read with special training)...most doctors, including radiologists cannot perform a comprehensive exam...that task is better left to registered ultrasound technologists.
Obstetrics is only a small part of ultrasound's capabilities...but this device would have certain uses...e.g to see free fluid (bleed after trauma) in the abdomen, hydronephrosis (dilated kidney) and other gross pathology. The patient would likely be refereed for more testing.
Ultrasound should only be used by trained professionals. Long term effects, if any, at diagnostic levels for imaging, are not currently known.

Sharon O 9:29PM February 28, 2010

GE Unveils Handheld Ultrasound Machine

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