Ultrasound and Big Brother

Sorry folk's...The image to the left is a CT scan of a fish sandwich in the box from the local burger joint. I had to post the picture because it is so cool! If you have been keeping up with medical technology lately, you may have noticed we have some pretty cool medical image devices available to look into to the human body. So what does that have to do with the title of this post? Well, as we all know the new administration has promised an over-haul in the medical business. They promise health care will be available and affordable to all Americans. America is famous for using the latest technology in our hospitals and clinics. Some would argue we over utilize the most expensive scanners. I feel like ultrasound is going to profit from the lean times ahead because it is a very useful and cost effective modality.
Further more, ultrasound is being used in more and more ways to benefit the patient, and saving money at the same time. Here is a snippet from Daniel Merton's excellent article regarding the future of ultrasound: "Since its introduction in the 1950s, diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) has experienced periods of rapid technological advances that spurred intense growth in its clinical utilization. However, for the past several years it seems like the modality has fallen out of favor with imaging professionals-namely radiologists who prefer reviewing films in a dimly lit reading room over holding a transducer-as well as referring physicians who have become more reliant on the diagnostic potentials of MRI and CT."

http://imaging-radiology-oncology-technologist.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?cc=198582

Stay tuned for more on this subject.
Peace, Gizz