Pocket-Sized Ultrasound Visualization Technology Introduced in Mexico

A pocket-sized ultrasound device enables imaging at the point of care. The device should become a useful tool for healthcare providers in several clinical areas of Mexico.

GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK) introduced in Mexico the pocket-sized, portable visualization tool, Vscan. The device’s pocket-friendly size provides clinicians with an immediate, noninvasive method to help obtain visual information about what is happening inside the body. Vscan is portable and can easily be used in hospital, clinics, or primary care settings. The ability to take a quick look inside the body using Vscan may help clinicians improve the quality of referral and triage of patients, enabling optimized care and possibly help reduce healthcare costs.

The Vscan is a prescription device for ultrasound imaging, measurement, and analysis in the clinical applications of abdominal; cardiac (adult and pediatric); urology, fetal/obstetric; pediatric; and thoracic/pleural motion and fluid detection, as well as for patient examination in primary care and in special care areas.

“Vscan is an innovative medical diagnostic tool which enables access to patients and places difficult for conventional ultrasound to get to,” stated Francisco Chavez, general director of GE Healthcare Mexico. “The innovation is a result of GE’s healthymagination commitment in an effort to reduce costs, increase access, and improve quality and efficiency of healthcare provided around the world.”

Until recently, for clinicians to obtain a quality ultrasound image of a patient, many patients had to move or be transported from one room to another to access a console ultrasound. Due to its compact size plus its black and white and color-coded image quality, Vscan provides access to outstanding image clarity at the physician’s fingertips.

Vscan is an intuitive tool; GE provides users with web based online education tools for both the product and basic clinical applications that include sections on imaging technique, anatomy and answers to frequently asked questions.

Designed for ease of use, the user interface and voice control enables clinicians to readily acquire an image and document findings. Included with the Vscan is a universal serial bus (USB)-based docking station and gateway software with service tools and access to remote diagnostics that allow clinicians to share their information among their colleges. Battery life provides up to one hour of scanning without recharging, allowing the ability on average to scan up to 30 patients based on an average of two-minute scan.

Vscan has received 510(k) clearance in the US from the Food and Drug Administration, the CE Mark from the European Union, and the Medical Device License from Health Canada. In Mexico the Federal Commission has approved it (Cofepris).

“The advantage for the department is tremendous. Using Vscan helps us triage the patients better, reduce the number of unnecessary echocardiographic examinations, and saves the patients time,” said Prof. Petros Nihoyannopoulos, a professor of cardiology at the Imperial College London (UK), Hammersmith Hospital.

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