GE HealthCare adds AI guidance to handheld ultrasound devices
GE HealthCare is continuing to make its portable, handheld ultrasounds easier to use for novice sonographers looking to perform scans.
This week, the company announced its Caption AI artificial intelligence (AI) software upgrade, which is integrated into its Vscan Air SL handheld ultrasound device, aiming to facilitate rapid cardiac assessments from virtually anywhere.
This technology offers operators real-time guidance, assisting them in capturing images of the heart, while providing automated ejection fraction estimations crucial for making informed clinical decisions in various cardiac settings.
"With the increase of cardiovascular disease and shortage of sonographers around the globe, innovations like the Vscan Air SL with Caption AI are hugely transformative in cardiac care, supporting rapid and confident assessments at the point of care," cardiologist Jordan B. Strom, MD, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said in a statement. "AI guidance has enormous potential in ultrasound due to its ability to guide experts and relatively new users in retrieving diagnostic-quality information to make timely and accurate decisions and get patients on the right path sooner."
Caption AI is designed to make cardiac imaging more accessible by offering step-by-step guidance on probe movements and ensuring image quality through a built-in meter. AutoCapture is also added to the ultrasound devices, to ensure scan images are available for review in a clinical setting.
In October 2023, GE HealthCare announced that caption guidance AI had been added to its larger Venue ultrasound systems. The same month, the company also signed a contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) as part of a federal program to prepare point-of-care medical imaging for disaster preparedness.
Vscan Air SL with Caption AI will debut at the 2024 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Scientific Session & Expo in Atlanta.
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