Vision 2008 upgrades for iU22 ultrasound

Philips has launched a “Vision 2008” upgrade for the iU22 ultrasound, promising new workflow and imaging capabilities.

I’ve seen the iU22 in action back when I was working in a hospital, the image quality is really good and in my humble opinion, its value for money (at least at the price that we bought it). Philips claims that coupled with the ViewForum workstation, the upgraded iU22 can be viewed in the same format as CT and MRI because the upgrade enables users to view a sequential block of volume data, virtually rescan at any time to obtain their most diagnostic 2D images.

Is this something new? Not really, Zonare’s ultrasound system, which uses the “ZONE Sonography™ technology” acquires ultrasound data relatively quickly in small number of large ‘zones’, each containing a volume of data equivalent to many lines in a conventional system and similarly, Zonare’s ultrasound system allows users the flexibility in obtaining a 2D image, virtually anytime.

I first witness the “ZONE Sonography™ technology” back on 25th August 2005 (yes, another event that made me one of the first few outside of USA back then) and I was awed by the technology. Earlier this year, as the programme manager (asia pacific) of medical imaging and healthcare IT (with a research and consulting company) I gave this quote while issuing an award to Zonare;

“Zone Sonography is not just an improvement of current ultrasound systems, but a breakthrough that could push ultrasound into a new technological forefront. Coupled with the z.one ultrasound platform, the industry may see changes to ultrasound as we currently know it.”

I still stand by what I said. If this technology is developed further, it would translate to better healthcare as there is no radiation, no repeated scan, reduces patient queue, turnaround time, patient’s time, money and stress (try being asked by the hospital to come back for a rescan)

Most importantly, I believe (as always) that if ones invent a new way to do imaging, another will take it further by using it as an enabler for further change.

With this, I am getting more excited towards what 2008 will bring, in another post -“Light and Sound – The way forward for better medical imaging“, I highlighted an article on photoacoustic effect, which utilise sound waves produced by different types of soft human tissue to identify and map features that other imaging methods (including X-rays) cannot distinguish so well.

Seems like the road towards radiation-less imaging has just been shorten. 🙂