Review
Portable bedside ultrasound: the visual stethoscope of the 21st century
1 Department of Surgery, University of Manitoba, Z3053 - 409 Tache Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2H 2A6, Canada
2 Departments of Surgery, Critical Care Medicine, and Regional Trauma Services, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine 2012, 20:18 doi:10.1186/1757-7241-20-18
Published: 9 March 2012Abstract
Over the past decade technological advances in the realm of ultrasound have allowed what was once a cumbersome and large machine to become essentially hand-held. This coupled with a greater understanding of lung sonography has revolutionized our bedside assessment of patients. Using ultrasound not as a diagnostic test, but instead as a component of the physical exam, may allow it to become the stethoscope of the 21st century.
