Natividad wins Trauma II designation

Surgical services staff applauds at a ceremony on Monday marking Natividad Medical Center's designation as a Level II Trauma Center for Monterey County. To help them in their work, trauma center staff has 51 pieces of new equipment. Walls singles out Sonosite portable ultrasound as one of his favorite pieces of equipment.:

Sonosite portable ultrasound machine.

How Sonosite is Helping to Fight Ebola

From ground zero of the Ebola outbreak – Dr.Trish Henwood is on a medical mission to better understand the pathophysiology of the disease and her Sonosite ultrasound has already been proven invaluable. It is pioneer physicians like Trish that will allow the global medical community to get a grasp on this devastating illness and with our support she is actually making that happen.

Sonosite supports PURE in Uganda

As one of our global initiatives, Sonosite is proud to support PURE with M-Turbo equipment.  Its portability and resilience make it a perfect solution when travelling to resource-limited environments.

Morocco - Mobile Ultrasound Update

If you have not read our previous blog The Morocco Mobile Ultrasound Patrol, I highly recommend that you follow the link: The Morocco Mobile Ultrasound Patrol It is a solution driven article, inspiring all POC ultrasound technicians to reach beyond the day to day borders that we usually work in.  It highlights a united effort between Qualcomm Wireless Reach, Trice Imageing Inc., FUJIFILM Sonosite Inc., and  Sony.

From Sceptic to Believer

Dr. Bryan Matusic

Growing Awareness

When Dr. Bryan Matusic first started practicing, the block and neurostimulator alone were considered best practise and block success rates of 85% were the accepted norm. "I was using just my own senses and the stimulator," he says. "Even if I had a 10%-15% failure rate, I was still doing better than most."

Ultrasound Can Diagnose and Prevent Pneumothorax

I find it ironic that one of the most efficient ways to detect pneumothorax in patients is also one of the most effective ways to prevent two of its more common clinical causes.

While scenarios that might trigger the suspicion of pneumothorax are too numerous to list, screening for it has included the standard trinity of chest-imaging procedures: x-rays, tomography, and ultrasound. In “Think Ultrasound When Evaluating for Pneumothorax” (featured in AIUM’s Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine), author Vicki E. Noble, MD, of Massachusetts General, proposes that ultrasound is the ideal screening modality due to its portability and lack of “risk associated with repeated measures as clinical scenarios change.”

Dr. Noble’s article goes on to provide instruction for performing the examination, incorporates excellent research citations, and then concludes: “Using thoracic sonography as a screening tool may lead to decreased ordering of chest radiographs, thus saving time and money and improving the efficiency of treatment.”

It may come as no surprise that my colleagues and I at Sonosite enthusiastically support Dr. Noble’s conclusion. The entire article—a part of AIUM’s “think ultrasound first” Sound Judgment Series—is available here and is worth a thorough read.

Dr. Jeff Gonzales' Story

Dr Jeff Gonzales

Catching a bus shouldn't be life-threatening. But for one 23-year-old woman, running for the bus could have cost her everything.

After rushing to hop on board, she fell unconscious, leaving her arm outstretched beyond the door. Not knowing this, the driver closed the door and drove to the next stop, about two-tenths of a mile away.