Ultrasound technology has a myriad of uses in the medical field. While many people tend to associate ultrasounds with pregnancy and documenting the progress of a fetus, there are several other ways that ultrasounds prove useful as well. For example, beyond the world of prenatal and pediatric applications, ultrasounds can be useful in diagnosing certain pulmonary and cardiac conditions. Additionally, ultrasounds have been used to benefit the world of gallbladder disease. All of these applications illustrate just how vital ultrasound technology is for many hospitals, emergency rooms, intensive care units (ICUs), and exam rooms.

Even though ultrasound technology is incredibly useful, some of the traditional ultrasound machines are a bit dated and inflexible. When it comes to patient care, portable ultrasounds are becoming much more useful than traditional ultrasound machines for clinicians in a variety of ways. Specifically in the wake of COVID-19, when many hospitals in the United States are at capacity or must maximize the type of care they provide, being able to get ultrasound images at a patient’s bedside can be incredibly beneficial. Learn more about the portable ultrasound and how Vave Health can help grow your practice below.

What is a portable ultrasound machine?

Also known as a point of care ultrasound (or POCUS), a portable ultrasound is a handheld ultrasound that allows a radiologist or sonographer to get ultrasound images with great image quality by using a handheld transducer. Generally speaking, most handheld ultrasound devices transmit the images they take to a smartphone or tablet, then those images can be cast to a bigger screen for greater detail. A portable ultrasound device makes image acquisition quicker and more flexible than traditional ultrasound devices. An example of this would be in cardiology or the emergency department, where efficiency and speed are necessary for an ultrasound probe; this means using handheld devices can make it much more straightforward to get the ultrasound findings you need during a physical examination for diagnostic accuracy.

How can a portable ultrasound machine help grow your practice?

The flexibility and affordability of a portable ultrasound make it quite helpful when it comes to growing your practice. For example, with a bedside ultrasound, you no longer have to wheel patients to the ultrasound department or a special room in order to use standard equipment. This means that you’re able to serve more patients in any given day with a handheld bedside ultrasound rather than having to juggle different schedules between one or two rooms where ultrasound equipment is housed.

With so many departments in a hospital setting relying on ultrasounds for diagnostic purposes, being able to have more portable ultrasounds can strengthen the overall patient care. Your radiology department and echocardiography department can each utilize a POCUS wherever they are, meaning that it’s easier to perform a personal ultrasound at the time that it’s needed most. Thanks to the affordable monthly cost of Vave Health’s POCUS devices (and the fact that ongoing training and updates are included in that price) you can outfit your paramedics and other members of your intensive care unit with POCUS devices, too, offering a much wider array of applications when it comes to ultrasounds.

How do POCUS devices benefit patients?

Another way your adoption of POCUS devices can help improve your practice is by improving the way in which you interface with patients. It isn’t uncommon for people to dislike doctor visits. They are intrusive, uncomfortable, or have invasive procedures that can make discomfort even more pronounced. Many  types of tests can prove inconvenient or uncomfortable for the patient, yet are critical to providing great care. Vave Health aims to provide a solution for an outstanding patient experience without compromising the quality of the necessary tests. 

Using portable ultrasounds enables you to gather better image areas of the body that other ultrasound devices may struggle to reach. The abdomen and vascular system, especially, can be tricky for imagers to capture in a comfortable way using traditional ultrasound machines, no matter how much experience a registered sonographer may have. As such, having a smaller, handheld ultrasound device ultimately improves the way in which ultrasound images are taken, improving the experience for the patient as well. Particularly with tight, hard-to-reach places or patients who are overweight, having a smaller, more precise device is a major help and can improve the quality of care and bedside manner you’re able to give to each and every patient. This is a win-win not only for hospitals and intensive care units, but for patients across the United States who encounter portable ultrasound devices outside of the OB GYN realm.

As you can see, handheld ultrasounds have a wide range of uses in the hospital setting. With so many benefits, it’s easy to see why they continue to be adopted and provide growth in a variety of practices. From better serving your patients to providing more flexibility and affordability, it’s definitely worth investing in several Vave Health handheld ultrasounds for your business.