I saw something about new portable ultrasounds on a TV today, so I did some googling and found this article from MIT. Apparently the first prototype was developed 2 years ago at Washington U. It includes a handheld probe and display, and they will sell several models each operating at a different frequency. They also link via smart phone to wifi and can transmit images to hospitals, I’m assuming so EMS can take a quick ultrasound and send the image ahead to a hospital so doctors know what to expect when the ambulance arrives.
The devices will start at $5,000-$10,000 and probably become half that much within three years (typical ultrasound machines are around $50,000). This seems like a technology that could be of great use in poor areas without big ultrasound machines. Also they could be used by surgeons on medical mission trips like ones my dad serves on every few years. I think this is an exciting development that has a lot of potential to increase access to medical care in the poor world.
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