GE Vscan pocket-sized, ultra-smart ultrasound unveiled

(NEW YORK) -- GE has a great new product. According to GE's website, there is a new ultra-smart and ultra-small ultrasound device that is a mix between an iPhone/mobile phone and "stethoscope." According to GE Healthcare, this is the "stethoscope of the 21st century" targeted for us by not only radiologists, but primary care physicians and physicians in rural areas. Price has yet to be determined.

Official GE release: GE’s drive to miniaturize technologies in order to make them more mobile couldn’t be better illustrated than with the breakthrough Vscan technology that GE’s Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt unveiled during his talk tonight at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Roughly the size of a smart phone, it houses powerful ultrasound technology that can potentially redefine the way doctors examine patients. By giving doctors a view into the body from the palm of a hand, GE believes that Vscan could one day become as indispensable as the traditional physician’s stethoscope in patient exams. Small is big: Jeff Immelt is seen here unveiling the new Vscan technology to the audience at tonight’s Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Pocket-sized technology like Vscan has the potential to help redefine the physical exam and improve patient care by enhancing a doctor’s ability to quickly and accurately make a diagnosis. For critical care clinicians, Vscan can offer an immediate look beyond patient vital signs with the potential to identify critical issues, like fluid around the heart, which could be a sign of congestive heart failure. And for cardiologists, Vscan provides a dependable visual evaluation of how well the heart is pumping at a glance, so they can treat patients more efficiently. Calling Dr. McCoy to sickbay: The handheld ultrasound can reduce the need for specialist referrals, which in turn can lower healthcare costs. The Vscan debut followed Jeff’s announcement earlier in the evening about the potentially game-changing computerized system that will give real-time clinical data and treatment options to doctors. GE’s next step in developing Vscan is to work with 12 leading clinical sites throughout the world to help determine how the technology will impact patient workflow and focused exams in primary care, critical care and the cardiology practices. The ultimate goal is to develop a structural protocol for Vscan exams.