How long before the “He’s dead, Jim” jokes? General Electric announced at the Web 2.0 technology conference that it has invented a handheld ultrasound device, which the company has dubbed the “stethoscope of the 21st century.”
My second thought after the obvious Star Trek connection, is that the Vscan, which looks something like a clamshell phone, will allow doctors and EMS responders to assess and diagnose patients and accident victims at the scene, perhaps speeding up care. But it’s not as if EMS arrives at an accident scene unprepared.
How else could the device change things? It will allow primary care physicians to perform their own ultrasounds in the office, rather than referring patients to an imaging center. The device will not allow doctors to transmit images via Wi-Fi, but GE said that Vscan will be “digitally capable.” I’m not exactly sure what that means, but presumably it will let doctors connect to a health care database and a “computerized decision support system,” which, as it happens, GE has also just invented.
E-records and health care databases are becoming increasingly important in the health care debate. Proponents say that they will help prevent medication errors and limit redundant tests and procedures.
Not sure about where the Vscan fits in to all that, or even if it just gets the cool geek prize, but you can be sure that if your doctor shows up with one of those for your physical, the Spock jokes are sure to abound.
It’s not necessarily a “tricorder” but maybe you could argue it’s a proto “medical tricorder” — they were different devices and the commonly referenced tricorder was more about scanning data from unfamiliar landscapes. From Wikipedia: “The standard tricorder is a general-purpose device used primarily to scout unfamiliar areas, make detailed examination of living things, and record and review technical data. The medical tricorder is used by doctors to help diagnose diseases and collect bodily information about a patient.”