The Range of POCUS: Emergency Rooms to Vascular Access to Intensive Care Training
Did you know that Sonosite’s first mission was to create an ultrasound machine that could be carried into battle? The concept was simple: Get treatment to a trauma victim by giving a frontline clinician an ultrasound machine that could be brought to the patient’s side. Now point-of-care ultrasound is used around the world for an ever growing variety of clinical applications and procedures. Here's three user stories of how Sonosite systems have helped clinicians expand the range of what's possible using portable ultrasound. Quick and Acurate Vascular AccessThe Children’s Acute…
Ultrasound and Changes in Value-Based Care - Part 1
Uncertainty – especially in economics, government, or healthcare - can be hard to handle. Combine a little bit of uncertainty in Washington D.C. and the medical community and you’ll have a window into 2017, a time when the future of the Affordable Health Care Act and the health sector is in flux. Is there a silver lining here? We believe so. 2017 presents an opportunity for healthcare providers to evaluate how technologies like ultrasound can solve their challenges. By expanding their use of ultrasound, we believe providers can attract more patients, increase their patients’ level of…
CMS Implements AUC Requirements for Advanced Imaging Services
HealthCare Business News
Jill Rathbun, Managing Partner at Galileo Consulting Group, Arlington, VA
The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have finalised the clinical areas that will be part of the new Appropriate Use Criteria requirements for the ordering of MRI, CT, PET and Nuclear Cardiology studies starting January 1, 2018. CMS has selected shoulder pain, including suspected rotator cuff injury, as one of the priority clinical areas. To learn more about these new requirements so that your practise can be prepared on January 1, 2018, please read the following article in the…
Ultrasound and Changes in Value-Based Care
Uncertainty – especially in economics, government, or healthcare - can be hard to handle. Combine a little bit of uncertainty in Washington D.C. and the medical community and you’ll have a window into 2017, a time when the future of the Affordable Health Care Act and the health sector is in flux.
Is there a silver lining here? We believe so. 2017 presents an opportunity for healthcare providers to evaluate how technologies like ultrasound can solve their challenges. By expanding their use of ultrasound, we believe providers can attract more patients, increase their patients’ level of…
Sonosite Edge II at the 2017 Gaes Titan Desert Race
The Gaes Titan Desert by Garmin is a 6-day endurance bike race over mountain terrain; the 2017 edition takes place in Morocco. From April 30-May 5, the Titan Desert saw over 463 top-level mountain bikers cover 380 miles of unyielding desert in gruelling conditions.Dr. Marc Bausili, an anaesthetist at the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona and a member of the Titan Desert medical team, knew what kind of injuries would be the most common, and what kind of equipment would be the most useful.“We knew from our experience of similar events,” says Bausili, “that with so many participants, and the…
Treating Acute Pain Without Opioids
For the past 20-odd years in the United States, traumatic and acute conditions have often been treated in the Emergency Room using opioid drugs. Now, with the effects of a nationwide opioid addiction crisis becoming increasingly dire, hospitals and trauma centres are looking for new ways to treat pain without prescribing addictive opioid painkillers.The goal of reducing opioid prescriptions is especially important for patients who are recovering from addiction to opioids. The Huffington Post has published a video that follows one patient’s story as he recovers from a shattered femur at the…
Global Health: FUJIFILM Sonosite Donates Ultrasound Systems to Refugee Rescue Organisation
FUJIFILM Sonosite has donated two M-Turbo point-of-care ultrasound systems to the non-governmental sea rescue organisation Proactiva Open Arms, based in Badalona, Spain, to support efforts in rescuing refugees.Proaativa Open Arms specialises in surveillance and rescue missions of refugee-filled boats in the Aegean and Central Mediterranean seas. People fleeing civil war, poverty, and persecution in their own countries have headed for Southern European shores. Boats that break down in the water are abandoned by the operators (usually smugglers) and refugees are left stranded in the…
Portable Ultrasound Machine for International Medical Missions
Dr. Russell Engevik is an emergency room physician from California who volunteers with Lighthouse Medical Missions.He recently sent a video showing us how he utilises a borrowed Sonosite iViz while working with patients in the hospital in the small fishing village of Tanji, The Gambia.The Gambia is a resource-poor nation in West Africa with an economy that relies primarily upon tourism. Less than 6% of the land is arable, and the main crop grown in the country is peanuts.The Gambia is nearly entirely surrounded by the country of Senegal, except for the section that is bordered by the Atlantic…
Case Study: Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Resuscitation Situations
How valuable is the use of point-of-care ultrasound in resuscitation situations? Consider the following case study, provided by Dr. Mark Mensour, ER physician, Assistant Professor at the Northern Ontario (Canada) School of Medicine and course developer for Emergency healthcare practitioners.
A 59-year old male, recently admitted for fever and pneumonia, is intubated and ventilated. While in the CT scanner to determine whether he has acute respiratory distress syndrome, the patient suffers a cardiac arrest with pulseless electrical activity (PEA). CPR was initiated, and the endotracheal tube…
Global Health: The IWISH Foundation and Sonosite Ultrasound Machines in Haiti
Audrey E. Stryker, MD, an Ob/Gyn and partner at Women's Ob-Gyn, P.C., has been traveling to underdeveloped countries with Sonosite ultrasound systems since 2004. As a part of the IWISH Foundation (International Women & Infant Sustainable Healthcare), she and her colleagues recently travelled to Haiti to help train the next generation of medical professionals. This is her story."We've been traveling to underdeveloped countries since 2004, hoping to achieve a model that offers a sustainable means for countries to provide health care for their women and children. Haiti…
POCUS Profile: Dr. Matthew J. Reed
Point-of-care ultrasound plays an important role in the emergency sector, enabling hospital clinicians and paramedics responding to an urgent call for medical assistance to assess a patient’s condition. Dr Matthew Reed, an Emergency Medicine consultant at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, explains how ultrasound contributes to the management of cardiac arrest:"My interest in ultrasound began over a decade ago when, as a registrar training in Edinburgh, I visited Australia to work at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. At that time, we were not using ultrasound in Edinburgh;…
Concerns about Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Australia
by Rich Fabian, Chief Operating Officer, FUJIFILM Sonosite
A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald about a push for increased point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) funding caught my eye. I was initially excited that the topic was receiving such prominent placement, but after delving in, I realised that that situation being described was obviously very frustrating for the people involved.
The article describes three problems that Australian providers and patients face when it comes to the use of POCUS in Australian Emergency Departments.
Medical Professionals Need POCUS Training…
The Tube Approach to Perioperative Point-of-Care Ultrasound
Anaesthetists working in perioperative medicine have increasingly taken a whole body approach to patient evaluation known as TUBE – Total Ultrasound Body Examination – thanks to the development of point-of-care ultrasound.Dr. Christophe Aveline, Consultant Anaesthetist in critical care and surgery at the Sévigné Private hospital in Rennes, is an advocate of TUBE and works closely on its adoption with the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia (ESRA) and the French Society of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation. Dr. Aveline recently sat down with Sonosite to discusses the importance of the TUBE…
7 Ways to Include POCUS in Medical School Training
When Dr. Peter Steinmetz took on the task of ensuring McGill University’s medical school graduates would be proficient in the use of point-of-care ultrasound, he faced numerous challenges, not the least of which was the fact that the undergraduate medical school curriculum was already full.Dr. Steinmetz’s first step was to convince the curriculum implementation committee that ultrasound is essential for future clinicians. “Ultrasound is performed by clinicians worldwide, and is an ideal adjunct to teaching anatomy and conducting physical examinations,” explains Dr. Steinmetz. “You need to…
Sonosite Ultrasound Gets Dirty at the Spartan Race
On the weekend of July 1 and 2, the pretty ski resort of Morzine in the region of Savoy welcomed the famous and difficult Spartan Race, an obstacle race open to all physical abilities and all levels. Competitors came from all over Europe to take part in the event.
With cold temperatures (54°F [12°C]), mud, rain, and a glacial river, the competition lived up to its reputation. In this type of race, competitors are put through the mill and regrettably injuries are common. When it comes to first aid, it pays to be prepared. Dr. Bensalah is used to extreme competitions. He is…
Fujifilm initiates a Phase I clinical trial of Anti-Cancer Drug FF-10101 in the United States in patients with Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML)
FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Kenji Sukeno) announced the commencement of a Phase I clinical trial of its anti-cancer drug FF-10101 in the Unites States in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
AML is a type of haematological malignancy associated with the malignant transformation of hematopoietic stem cells, which generate blood cells, into leukaemia cells. These leukaemia cells then exhibit abnormal growth in the bone marrow and it prevents the generation of blood cells. Furthermore, the leukaemia cells with aberrant growth invade other organs outside the…
Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Using Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Blocks
A Sonosite SII point-of-care ultrasound system recently played a key role in an innovative procedure of thyroid surgery without the use of general anaesthetic.Dr. Rüdiger Eichholz, a consultant anaesthetist working for private practise in Stuttgart, Germany, explained the case.“We were approached with an unusual case; a young woman in need of thyroid surgery, but unwilling to have a general anaesthetic due to a childhood medical trauma,” said Dr. Eicholz. “We looked at the possibility of performing an ultrasound-guided block of the cervical nerves pathway – a technique commonly used for…
Global Health: 3 Case Studies Show the Value of POCUS in Resource-Limited Healthcare
Dr. Thomas Sullivan recently returned from Quang Nam province in Vietnam, where he had volunteered at a series of clinics in late July, with the assistance of ASSORV through the Vietnam Health Clinic group of the University of Washington.Dr. Sullivan practises radiology at the Centre for Diagnostic Imaging in Seattle, WA, and borrowed a Sonosite Edge point-of-care ultrasound machine for his trip. Dr. Sullivan reported three medical cases that showed the value of POCUS in resource-limited settings.1). "A perimenopausal woman presented with a history of ovarian cancer, presumably by palpation…
WCUME17 POCUS Chat: Interview with Dr. Peter Steinmetz - PT. 2
Dr. Peter Steinmetz, co-chair of WCUME 2017 and Director of Undergraduate Bedside Ultrasound Teaching at McGill University answers questions around the use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and ensuring its proper use worldwide.
You can listen to the audio interview with Dr. Steinmetz here.
Read our first blog featuring Dr. Steinmetz here.
What needs to happen nationally and internationally to improve the consistency of user skills and spread use of POCUS across medical disciplines?
"It all starts with undergraduate medical education (UGME) as the foundation. There needs to be…
Sonosite Portable Ultrasound at the Spartan Race
From July 1-2, the Morzine ski resort in Savoy, France hosted the Spartan Race, an obstacle course open to all physical abilities and all levels. Competitors from all over Europe took part in the event.With cold temperatures (54°F [12°C]), mud, rain, and a glacial river, the competition lived up to its formidable reputation and in this type of race, competitors are put through the mill and injuries are common. When it comes to providing first aid to competitors, it pays to come prepared.Dr. Mourad Bensalah practises medicine in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Anne military hospital in Toulon…