Laptop Ultrasound Used in Pediatric Emergencies Provides Reliability in Critical Situations

Valuable time is being saved during emergency pediatric procedures at a UK hospital using a laptop portable ultrasound system.

"The P50 is a truly portable device, which has enabled us to perform emergency procedures in any area of the hospital. With a dedicated machine for our pediatric unit, the infection risk is greatly reduced, and the need for us to source an ultrasound system from another department has been removed," said Dr. Rosy Jalan, consultant radiologist at the Royal London Hospital (London, UK), part of Barts and The London NHS ([UK] National Health System) Trust. "The additional functionality as a laptop is very impressive and this will be useful for training in the future."

Clinicians have highlighted the simple user interface and high quality images as key benefits especially in emergency situations. The P50, developed by Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany), provides excellent tissue differentiation, high spatial and temporal resolution, as well as color and Doppler sensitivity. It is suitable for situations where space is limited and quick access to scans is critical. In addition to being a portable ultrasound and weighing only 5.4 kg, the P50 has all the functionality of an Apple Mac laptop, including Microsoft Windows. This feature will be used in the future at The Royal London Hospital for offsite training purposes.

"Being able to react quickly in emergency situations is imperative, and the P50 enables this," said Declan Dunphy, ultrasound product manager at Siemens Healthcare. "It is rewarding to see the system being used and making a positive difference in emergency situations."

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. With its laboratory diagnostics acquisitions, Siemens Healthcare is an integrated healthcare company, bringing together imaging and lab diagnostics, therapy, and healthcare information technology solutions, supplemented by consulting and support services.

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