WSU medical school among first in nation to work with portable ultrasound equip

On July 12, Wayne State University unveiled new portable ultrasound equipment that students will be trained to use. WSU is one of the first medical schools in the nation to explore this technology. Spokesman Matt Friedman says, "It's the first school in Michigan," and points out, "There are hundreds of medical schools around the country."

The equipment is the size of a laptop computer and was developed by Henry Ford Hospital in conjunction with NASA and the United States Olympic Committee. Although the portability of the ultrasound will prove invaluable to athletics, its applications will be much broader: images that it generates can be transmitted by phone line, satellite or the internet, meaning that it can be used at accident scenes and in remote areas.

GE Healthcare has provided WSU with 30 of the machines. Students will be trained by Henry Ford physicians as well as WSU instructors. In a statement, the school's executive vice-dean, Robert Frank, M.D., said, "We see this form of ultrasound as an important tool to help state-of-the-art medicine grow. It is an empowering technology that will provide care to underserved areas – urban and rural - by putting ultrasound in the hands of all physicians."

Sources: WSU, Matt Friedman
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh