A small handheld ultrasound probe used in conjunctionwith a Windows-based mobile phone may provide proof-of-concept for what amountsto a 'tricorder' like those seen in the 1960's era Star Trek televisionshow. Washington University computer engineers have tweaked every aspect ofultrasound probe design and operation — from power consumption and datatransfer rate to image formation algorithms.
The result is a smartphone-compatible USB ultrasoundprobe. This can be plugged into a standard Microsoft Windows mobile-basedsmartphone and the operator can immediately image the kidney, the liver, thebladder and the eyes using the screen on the smartphone.
"You can carry around a probe and cell phone andimage on the fly now," said William D. Richard, Ph.D., WUSTL associateprofessor of computer science and engineering. "Imagine having thesesmartphones in ambulances and emergency rooms. On a larger scale, this kind ofcell phone is a complete computer that runs Windows. It could become theessential computer of the Developing World, where trained medical personnel arescarce, but most of the population, as much as 90 percent, have access to acell phone tower."
"The idea is that caregivers, who otherwise have totransport a young person, often wheelchair bound, to a hospital or clinic on aregular basis for examination, can be trained to do ultrasound to track musclecondition. The caregiver would only have to do a one-minute scan, transfer thedata captured to the clinic, and the results would come back to thecaregiver."
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