Pocket Ultrasound
When I heard that GE’s CEO and Chairman Jeffrey Immelt was going to be at this year’s Web 2.0 Summit, I expected an “old business” CEO weakly touting all the ways that his company was embracing social media. I did not expect him to come to demonstrate a portable ultrasound device ‘with the works’:
GE’s new Vscan pocket ultrasound device is reminiscent of the mobile phone-powered portable ultrasound and light microscope that we’ve covered before, but while those mobile phone attachments felt more like demonstrations of mobile phone/medical technology mashup curiosities, the Vscan feels like its in an entirely separate category:
pushed by a major healthcare technology company- fits in the palm of your hand
- thumb operated UI to adjust gain or look at a color-doppler scan
- high quality display
- real-time imaging capability
- preset modes to fit what doctors are most likely to use
- support for WiFi transmission of information
- ability to annotate with voice recorder
- Immelt: “could be the Stethoscope of the 21st century”
Medical technology blog Medgadget captured a fascinating preview on YouTube:
In his presentation at the Web 2.0 Summit, Immelt captures what I perceive to be the real significance behind the VScan:
“This has the same power and image quality of an ultrasound from 2-3 years ago that cost $250,000! This is Moore’s Law in action. To get this image scale in 1995, you had a product that weighed several hundred pounds!”
On a medical level, this opens up new doors for physicians to study illnesses and treat patients in a wider range of regions, but even beyond that, it underscores the ability of technological innovation to
increase the ability of doctors, scientists, consumers, and patients all over the world to access the latest in scientific and medical technology.