Why handheld ultrasound?

Yes, various studies have been conducted. One study has shown that in one out of every three patients, adding handheld ultrasound to routine clinical examination has changed, added to, or confirmed an important diagnosis.²

Another study concluded that handheld ultrasound can reduce the number of unnecessary exams. 61% of patients who would have been referred for a full echo exam following physician exam were sent home instead because of what exams revealed.⁵
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Non-portable ultrasound can play a critical role among an organization’s health technology. With large ultrasound machines, though, locating the machine and wheeling the machine to the patient’s bedside may take time. Or, in certain cases, ultrasound is offered only in certain hospital wards, requiring time for the patient to relocate.

With handheld ultrasound, you can keep the device in your pocket throughout the day, using it as needed on the spot. The easy and quick access helps you quickly triage patients and make fast clinical decisions, potentially saving precious time, treating a higher number of patients, and minimizing the need for costly and invasive imaging procedures.

Ensure your patients have access to the right care at the right time – providing critical visual information at your fingertips with its remarkable image quality. Vscan Air™ may help you quickly decide on next steps, saving your patients’ time with more accurate referrals.^2,3,4

Portable ultrasound machines are mobile systems that can be used at a patient’s bedside or other clinical settings. Although they are portable, they are not necessarily handheld or wireless. They are often cart-based, laptop-based, or tablet-based, in contrast to the console-style of stationary machines. Portable ultrasound machines provide the mobility to travel with clinicians and to image patients wherever they may be.

Handheld ultrasound is a subset of portable ultrasound. Handheld systems are typically pocket-sized, fit in the palm of your hand, and can be conveniently carried by healthcare professionals throughout the day. Certain handheld devices are wireless and battery- powered, facilitating mobility, making them even more convenient, and enabling healthcare professionals to make decisions faster.

When it’s easy to quickly see within patients’ bodies, handheld ultrasound helps you to quickly triage patients and make fast clinical decisions by ruling in or out a wide variety of acute conditions for patients.

It can be an essential time saver in the emergency department or in the ambulance fitting seamlessly into the workflow. In this way, handheld devices are effective for many emergency ultrasound situations.

Handheld ultrasound helps you accelerate clinical decisions and perform guided interventions such as fluid drainage or securing central venous access in potentially life-threatening situations.

Handheld ultrasound devices tend to be priced lower than larger, non-portable ultrasound machines. And the cost-effectiveness of handheld ultrasound doesn’t stop there.

For healthcare organizations, handheld ultrasound can help reduce resource consumption by minimizing more expensive imaging exams like X-ray, CT scans, or MRIs.

Using a cost-effective ultrasound solution can translate into more efficient clinical processes. Handheld ultrasound should be for healthcare organizations and professionals that prioritize increasing asset performance and reducing healthcare costs.

Although ultrasound is faster, cheaper than other methods of medical imaging such as a CT scan or MRI, it is underutilized as a medical diagnostic tool. Handheld ultrasound is helping to change that.

Expanded Applications
With the introduction of handheld ultrasound, the application of ultrasound across care areas is expanding. For example, during the COVID-19 global health crisis, handheld ultrasound was found to be an important tool in triaging patients right at the bedside in order to accelerate care. It is likely that this trend of broader ultrasound usage will continue, with healthcare professionals becoming increasingly skilled in applying ultrasound in a greater variety of care areas and situations.

Continued Miniaturization
Ultrasound technology and devices are following a path of continued miniaturization, with increasing computing power. However, it’s not simply a case that the smaller the screen, the better. With smaller sizes handheld devices are more portable and easier to carry around with you throughout the day, yet the screen can play a critical role in the scanning and diagnosis process and so needs to be of sufficient size. With increased computing power, image quality (regardless of screen size) should continue to improve over time, making images clear for accurate diagnoses to be made.

Wireless Technology
Over time, wireless technology will become more pervasive with handheld ultrasound systems. This will enhance portability, ease of use, and ability to clean the device.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Intelligent Learning Technologies
Clinicians expect critical visual information to help enable more accurate and confident clinical decisions for the next step in diagnosis. With this in mind, AI and other intelligent learning technologies will continue to play a role in the further evolution of handheld ultrasound capabilities, most likely seen with enhancements in the area of automated measurements. Technology may also be used to minimize subjective operator tendencies.

Network of Users and Experts
As the world around us increases in interconnectivity, expanded networks of handheld ultrasound users and experts may provide support, collaboration, and secondary opinions when needed.

Image Quality and Ease-of-Use
As part of the above trends, expect image quality and ease-of-use to further improve over time, making handheld ultrasound even more convenient. Handheld ultrasound is changing the game, making ultrasound more accessible for many healthcare professionals across clinical specialties.