JULY - 20198Picture this: A patient arrives at the Emergency Department with symptoms characteristic of shock - fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. Time is of the essence, and the attending physician needs to act quickly to make an accurate diagnosis and accelerate treatment.She pulls around a portable ultrasound system to get information about the heart, lungs, and inferior vena cava. A decade ago, this may have taken several minutes­ time the patient couldn't spare -- to fumble with the machine and to ensure the measurements are precise. But, today, these tools are automated with the help of Artificial Intelligence, streamlining the hard and tedious parts of the acquisition and allowing the clinician to focus more on the patient and less on the machine.Intelligent machines are changing health care The AI-powered Venue ultrasound system from GE Healthcare released last year introduced three automated tools for the critical patient - Auto VTI, Auto IVC and Auto B-lines:· The Auto VTI tool calculates the Velocity Time Integral (with a five or three chamber view), locates and traces the optimal Doppler waveform, and calculates multiple parameters at once - Velocity Time Integral (VTI), Cardiac Output (if the LVOT is measured or entered), Cardiac Index, Stroke Volume, Heart rate and Cardiac Output Flux. · The Auto B-lines tool detects and counts B-lines ­ a clinical marker of extravascular lung water ­ within a lung space, simplifying the lung exam in patients with pulmonary edema. · Auto IVC tracks the Inferior Vena Cava, measuring the Collapsibility or Distensibility Index (depending on whether the patient is breathing spontaneously or ventilated), reducing complexity in evaluation of a patient's fluid status. Cindy Owen, Director of Clinical Insights & Development for Point of Care Ultrasound, GE HealthcareByULTRASOUND... IT'S A WHOLE NEW WORLDCindy OwenIn My Opinion
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