New Handheld Ultrasound Rolls Out

Touted as “the stethoscope of the 21st century,” GE Healthcare’s Vscan, a handheld ultrasound device, hit the markets yesterday in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and India. Weighing in at less than a pound and a cost of under $10,000, the pocket-sized device has won 510(K) clearance in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration as well as approval by agencies in Europe and Canada.

Handheld ultrasound devices are being developed by a number of companies as an extremely portable, noninvasive way of providing visual information about what’s happening inside the body. Some of Vscan’s specific features include:

• An online portal that provides users with product training tools and basic clinical applications
• Intuitive, thumb-controlled interface
• Battery life of one hour scanning, good for up to 30 patients at 2 minutes per scan
• Voice annotation
• USB docking station
• Link to a PC
• Gateway software with services tools and remote diagnostics

According to GE Healthcare, the Vscan can be used for abdominal, cardiac, urological, fetal/OB, pediatric, thoracic/pleural, primary, and special care applications.

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