GE introduces Vivid i

GE Healthcare this week introduced a new compact cardiovascular ultrasound system, the Vivid i.

GE said the system offers the functionality and features of a larger-scale system, but weighs 30 times less at approximately 10 pounds. The company proposed that its portability allows patients to receive diagnostic exams anywhere as opposed to being transported to an imaging lab. System sales are being aimed at urgent care areas, including the emergency room, critical care and operating room.

High on its list of features is the system's wireless capability, which enables physicians to transfer files instantly from the system to other physicians for consultation.

"Echocardiography is about to undergo a major change," said Professor George Sutherland, department of cardiology, St. George's Hospital in London, England. "With its ease of movement and diagnostic image quality, this portable ultrasound system makes it easier for the doctor to go to the patient to perform an ultrasound scan, rather than the reverse. In intensive care and cardiac exam rooms, this is a marked advantage."

The Vivid i will be commercially available this fall.

Around the web

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses declining reimbursement rates, recruiting challenges and the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the industry.

Deepak Bhatt, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and principal investigator of the TRANSFORM trial, explains an emerging technique for cardiac screening: combining coronary CT angiography with artificial intelligence for plaque analysis to create an approach similar to mammography.

A total of 16 cardiology practices from 12 states settled with the DOJ to resolve allegations they overbilled Medicare for imaging agents used to diagnose cardiovascular disease.