Friday, June 25, 2010

Paramedics Can Perform Limited Sonograms

Paramedics have been taught to perform limited sonograms while en-route or at the scene of emergencies.  Now why hasn't this been thought of before?  Well, it has.  It has not taken off in America though.  I am not sure why, because it makes perfect sense.  The company I work for is marketing courses designed to train EMS and paramedics to do limited focused ultrasounds.  The goal would be to identify specific life threatening emergencies on the scene or en-route and to communicate the nature of these emergencies so as to prepare hospital professionals to be ready for issues such as free intraperitoneal fluid, pericardial effusions, or abdominal aortic aneurysms.  Why not go further and train the paramedics to do other simple procedures?  Maybe train them to scan a patient in labor to identify breach births or oligohydramnios?  That could prove to be very useful. 

Paramedics can obtain and interpret ultrasonograms in the back of moving ambulances, new research confirms.
Prehospital ultrasonography has been successfully implemented and is being consistently used in Germany, France, Italy, and some Scandinavian countries, but in the U.S. it's "still in the early development stage," according to lead author Dr. William Heegaard of Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and colleagues.
http://emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?id=13766&siteSection=1

Thursday, June 10, 2010

On The Plane Again

I Am leaving for Kuwait on Saturday to deliver a two day lecture on critical care ultrasound.  My audience will be many of the talented ED physicians who run the country's trauma centers.  The trip will be long as I will make stops in Brussels, and Frankfurt.  Total length of the trip will be 7,763 miles one way.  The trip will take me 23 hours total with 4 hours layover in Frankfurt.  Honestly, I am dreading be seated for this long, and I will take steps to avoid DVT by wearing pressure stockings and getting up often to walk around the back of the plane.  I look forward to my first trip to Kuwait.  I will post some pictures on my AHEC's facebook page when I return.  If I have internet access there I will try to post.  ~Gizz

Ultrasonographic Brain Stimulation May Enhance Brain Function

Scientists have known for a while that ultrasound can stimulate neurons in the brain.  There has been no use until now for this side effect of acoustic energy.  Recently, new equipment breakthroughs have allowed scientists to target areas in the brain and observe the results.  This may have the potential to treat a variety of brain ailments. 

ScienceDaily (June 9, 2010) — The ability to diagnose and treat brain dysfunction without surgery, may rely on a new method of noninvasive brain stimulation using pulsed ultrasound developed by a team of scientists led by William "Jamie" Tyler, a neuroscientist at Arizona State University.  Further reading:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100609122832.htm