In a life-threatening emergency, every second counts. That’s why the crew at Geisinger Life Flight adopted Vscan Extend™ handheld ultrasound to help them save lives in the air and out in the field.
There are many benefits of handheld aeromedical ultrasound in an emergency situation. “We’ve been able to implement a lifesaving intervention really quickly, that we might not have been able to do had we not had ultrasound,” said Robert Strony, MD, Ultrasound Director with Geisinger Life Flight.
Prehospital Aeromedical Ultrasound Can Help to Save Lives
Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is becoming more common in emergency medicine. With ultrasound in the field, aeromedical ultrasound can enhance the physical examination of patients, accelerate diagnoses, and help caregivers triage patients faster.
There is growing evidence that prehospital POCUS may change patient management, expedite diagnostic and therapeutic care and decrease time to definitive management.
Aeromedical services providers may use handheld POCUS both in and out of aircraft. According to the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, “In-flight POCUS assessments by paramedics have been shown to have high rates of correlation (positive predictive value and negative predictive value) when compared with in-hospital imaging and operating room reports.”
As adoption of aeromedical ultrasound increases, more crews like Geisinger Life Flight may be able to examine patients prior to arrival at a hospital, potentially benefiting the patient, the aeromedical crew as well as the physicians at the hospital.
Providing Emergency Room Teams Valuable Clinical Information
Vscan Extend helps the Geisinger Life Flight crew give Emergency Room teams at receiving hospitals valuable clinical information prior to the patient’s arrival in the trauma bay.
“If we can get that information to the emergency department, doctors, the trauma teams and surgeons, it will change the course of treatment and care, and will save lives,” said Jerry Splitt, Flight Nurse with Geisinger Life Flight. The attending physicians will be able to act much quicker once the patient arrives at the hospital, and not lose precious time on diagnosis and testing.
The device has been verified for limited use outside of professional healthcare facilities. Use is restricted to environmental properties described in the user manual. Please contact your GE HealthCare sales representative for detailed information.
Related Resources:
- Emergency Ultrasound
- Emergency Medical Services: Handheld Ultrasound
- Prehospital Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine: Think Outside the 4 Walls
About Geisinger Life Flight
With 40 years of service, Geisinger Life Flight provides medical air transportation in central and northeast Pennsylvania. Quality measures include night vision equipment, single pilot instrument flight certification, and satellite tracking systems. Geisinger averages 3,200 flights per year and has transported more than 73,000 patients.
About Robert Strony, MD
Robert Strony, MD, Ultrasound Director at Geisinger, is a board-certified emergency physician subspecializing in clinical ultrasound. Dr. Strony received his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine.
About Jerry Splitt
Jerry Splitt is Program Manager for Life Flight at Geisinger Health System, with more than 20 years of experience. Responsibilities include oversight of a five base Helicopter EMS program as well as clinical responsibilities as a flight nurse.
