First Wireless Ultrasound System Eliminates Need for Cables

A new freestyle ultrasound system features wireless transducers, removing the impediment of cables in ultrasound imaging.

At the 98th Scientific Assembly and annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), November 25-30, 2012, in Chicago (IL, USA), Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) presented the Acuson Freestyle ultrasound system. To enable this pioneering technology, the system brings to the market a large number of new features, including acoustics, system architecture, miniaturization, radio design, and image processing. The Acuson Freestyle system will increase ultrasound’s use in interventional and therapeutic applications, where the technology provides many workflow and image quality improvements. The development of wireless ultrasound is in line with goals of the Healthcare Sector’s global initiative Agenda 2013--specifically in the areas of innovation and accessibility.

Transducer cables have always been a cumbersome necessity in ultrasound imaging. Not only are they an impediment to fast and ergonomic examination procedures, but they also present an infection control risk in sterile interventional settings, even when they are covered in sterile sheaths. “Siemens Healthcare is the first company to introduce an ultrasound system that enables physicians to work with cable-free transducers,” remarked Jeffrey Bundy, CEO of the Siemens healthcare ultrasound business unit. “The Acuson Freestyle system facilitates the use of advanced ultrasound technology into clinical fields requiring a sterile environment, such as interventional radiology, anesthesiology, critical care, cath lab, or emergency care.”

Wireless transducers can also expand ultrasound into new and cutting-edge applications such as administering nerve blocks, enhancing vascular access, and improving target localization through ultrasound guidance during therapeutic interventions and biopsies.

For image acquisition and processing, the ultrasound system utilizes synthetic aperture imaging technology, an integration of proprietary hardware and software that was specifically developed for the wireless signal transmission of full-resolution digital image data at very high data rates. Focusing on each pixel in the image, this method produces excellent image quality throughout the field of view. This design feature decreases the transducer’s power requirements, increasing battery life. Wireless real-time ultrasound data transmission is further enabled through the proprietary development of a novel ultra-wideband radio technology, which, operating at a high frequency of 7.8 Gigahertz, is not susceptible to interference with other electronic equipment.

Three wireless transducers are available for the Acuson Freestyle system, covering a range of vascular, general imaging, and high-frequency applications such as musculoskeletal and nerve imaging. The user can operate the transducers up to three meters away from the system, which includes an ergonomic interface that enables remote control of scanning parameters from within the sterile field. The system console can be mounted easily on a lightweight cart and also operates on battery power. The system has a 38 cm, high-resolution light-emitting display.

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