GE Healthcare has introduced Vscan, a new, pocket-sized visualization tool developed to provide physicians with imaging capabilities at the point-of-care. Vscan houses ultra-smart ultrasound technology that provides clinicians with an immediate, non-invasive method to secure visual information about what is happening inside the body.
The company said that Vscan is portable and can be used in many clinical, hospital or primary care settings. It leverages GE’s black and white image technology and color-coded blood flow imaging in a device that fits into a pocket and weighs less than one pound at 3 inches wide and 5.3 inches long.
The Vscan imaging device has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA, the CE Mark by the European Union, as well as the Medical Device License from Health Canada. It is commercially available in the US, Europe, India and Canada. It helps clinicians with the ability to take a quick look inside the body to detect disease earlier. Vscan offers the image quality that was available with a console ultrasound.
The Vscan is a prescription device for ultrasound imaging, measurement and analysis in the clinical applications of abdominal, cardiac (adult and pediatric), urological, fetal/OB, pediatric, and thoracic/pleural motion and fluid detection, as well as for patient examination in primary care and in special care areas.
Anthony DeMaria, professor of Medicine and director of Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center at University of California, said: “Having Vscan at my disposal at all times has allowed me to use ultrasound in a number of settings and with patients that I wouldn’t have anticipated before from the ICU, to the outpatient clinic as well as with ambulatory patients. Vscan is more than a simple diagnostic tool. The handheld device should help physicians make treatment decisions more quickly. I believe the Vscan technology will play an important role in physical exams.”
Jose Zamorano, director of Cardiovascular Institute University Clinic San Carlos Madrid, Spain, said: “During our initial evaluation of approximately 100 patients using Vscan, we have been impressed with its image quality and ease of use. But even more important than that, we have experienced first hand the value of adding such a tool to our clinical and physical examination, adding clinically relevant information in roughly one out of every four patients.”