A small handheld ultrasound probe used in conjunction
with a Windows-based mobile phone may provide proof-of-concept for what amounts
to a 'tricorder' like those seen in the 1960's era Star Trek television
show. Washington University computer engineers have tweaked every aspect of
ultrasound probe design and operation — from power consumption and data
transfer rate to image formation algorithms.
The result is a smartphone-compatible USB ultrasound
probe. This can be plugged into a standard Microsoft Windows mobile-based
smartphone and the operator can immediately image the kidney, the liver, the
bladder and the eyes using the screen on the smartphone.
It is also possible to use ultrasound endocavity probes
for prostate and uterine screenings and biopsies, and vascular probes for
imaging veins and arteries for starting IVs and central lines.
"You can carry around a probe and cell phone and
image on the fly now," said William D. Richard, Ph.D., WUSTL associate
professor of computer science and engineering. "Imagine having these
smartphones in ambulances and emergency rooms. On a larger scale, this kind of
cell phone is a complete computer that runs Windows. It could become the
essential computer of the Developing World, where trained medical personnel are
scarce, but most of the population, as much as 90 percent, have access to a
cell phone tower."
According to David Zar, research associate in computer
science and engineering, gives one example of how the device might be used:
"The idea is that caregivers, who otherwise have to
transport a young person, often wheelchair bound, to a hospital or clinic on a
regular basis for examination, can be trained to do ultrasound to track muscle
condition. The caregiver would only have to do a one-minute scan, transfer the
data captured to the clinic, and the results would come back to the
caregiver."
Handheld devices for doctors are no longer medical
science fiction. Progress is rapidly being made in this area; physicians
already have the LOCAD-PTS
Handheld Microorganism Detector (tested aboard the International Space
Station) and life sciences personnel have the NUGGET
(Neutron/Gamma Ray Geologic Tomography) device for finding alien life
forms.
(This Science Fiction in the News story used with
permission of Technovelgy.com)
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