MANILA, Philippines - Imagine a palm-sized device that you could
easily take to disaster or far-flung areas to address medical emergencies.
It can be "charged"
like a regular cellular phone and can come up with the same images as a
large-sized ultrasound machine does. Its results can easily be downloaded into
a computer and shared with other medical experts for study.
It may seem like a gadget
straight out of a sci-fi movie or one of those smartphone applications that
fall under the category of "entertainment." It isn't.
It's GE's V-scan and members of
the press got to preview the device as the company launched its Healthymagination
College educational roadshow in the Philippines.
"Healthcare is something
that we have always been passionate about," said Tommy Tan, director for
government affairs and policy of GE Healthcare Asia.
GE launched Healthymagination in
2009. It invested $6 billion over six years to develop "improve quality,
access and cost by up to 15 percent with a focus on lower-cost technology, more
information technology, expanding access, and consumer-driven health."
Tan sees the V-scan and other
such devices as a tool in helping medical practitioners in diagnosing patients,
especially in far-flung areas where bringing large medical equipment can be
difficult or is impossible.
Reception for the device in its
initial tests in Indonesia were positive; attendance in the natal care units
where Vscan was used doubled.
GE is now developing localized
versions of the machine for its markets in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the
Philippines.
Apart from the V-scan, GE also
has the Vivid i, a laptop-like machine that can perform echocardiography, and
the Vivid e, also a laptop-like device that can perform a complete
cardiovascular measurement and analysis, among others.
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