Evaluation of a novel handheld point-of-care ultrasound device in an African emergency department
Abstract Background Many point-of-care ultrasound devices are now “pocket-sized” or handheld, allowing easy transport during travel and facilitating use in crowded spaces or in austere low-resource settings. Concerns remain about their durability, image quality, and clinical utility in those environ...
| Published in: | The Ultrasound Journal |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2020-12-01
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13089-020-00200-8 |
| _version_ | 1852731214860910592 |
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| author | Samuel L. Burleson Jonathan F. Swanson Erin F. Shufflebarger Douglas W. Wallace Matthew A. Heimann James C. Crosby David C. Pigott John P. Gullett Maxwell A. Thompson Christopher J. Greene |
| author_facet | Samuel L. Burleson Jonathan F. Swanson Erin F. Shufflebarger Douglas W. Wallace Matthew A. Heimann James C. Crosby David C. Pigott John P. Gullett Maxwell A. Thompson Christopher J. Greene |
| author_sort | Samuel L. Burleson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| container_title | The Ultrasound Journal |
| description | Abstract Background Many point-of-care ultrasound devices are now “pocket-sized” or handheld, allowing easy transport during travel and facilitating use in crowded spaces or in austere low-resource settings. Concerns remain about their durability, image quality, and clinical utility in those environments. Method Five emergency physicians with training in point-of-care ultrasound employed the Butterfly iQ, a novel handheld ultrasound device, in routine clinical care in a busy, high-acuity African emergency department over a period of 10 weeks. We retrospectively evaluated the performance of the Butterfly iQ from the perspectives of both the clinicians using the device and expert ultrasound faculty reviewing the images. Results We found advantages of the Butterfly iQ in a high-acuity African emergency department include its use of a single probe for multiple functions, small size, ease of transport, relatively low cost, and good image quality in most functions. Disadvantages include large probe footprint, lower, though still adequate, cardiac imaging quality, frequent overheating, and reliance on internet-based cloud storage, but these were surmountable. We also report a wide variety of patient presentations, pathology, and procedures to which the device was used. Conclusion We conclude the Butterfly iQ is an effective, though imperfect, point-of-care ultrasound device in a low-resource emergency setting. We will continue to employ the device in clinical emergency care and teaching in this setting. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1ee9e2d50355483798dae3cdd7ee8f21 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| issn | 2524-8987 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| spelling | doaj-art-1ee9e2d50355483798dae3cdd7ee8f212025-08-19T21:08:32ZengSpringerOpenThe Ultrasound Journal2524-89872020-12-011211510.1186/s13089-020-00200-8Evaluation of a novel handheld point-of-care ultrasound device in an African emergency departmentSamuel L. Burleson0Jonathan F. Swanson1Erin F. Shufflebarger2Douglas W. Wallace3Matthew A. Heimann4James C. Crosby5David C. Pigott6John P. Gullett7Maxwell A. Thompson8Christopher J. Greene9Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at BirminghamAbstract Background Many point-of-care ultrasound devices are now “pocket-sized” or handheld, allowing easy transport during travel and facilitating use in crowded spaces or in austere low-resource settings. Concerns remain about their durability, image quality, and clinical utility in those environments. Method Five emergency physicians with training in point-of-care ultrasound employed the Butterfly iQ, a novel handheld ultrasound device, in routine clinical care in a busy, high-acuity African emergency department over a period of 10 weeks. We retrospectively evaluated the performance of the Butterfly iQ from the perspectives of both the clinicians using the device and expert ultrasound faculty reviewing the images. Results We found advantages of the Butterfly iQ in a high-acuity African emergency department include its use of a single probe for multiple functions, small size, ease of transport, relatively low cost, and good image quality in most functions. Disadvantages include large probe footprint, lower, though still adequate, cardiac imaging quality, frequent overheating, and reliance on internet-based cloud storage, but these were surmountable. We also report a wide variety of patient presentations, pathology, and procedures to which the device was used. Conclusion We conclude the Butterfly iQ is an effective, though imperfect, point-of-care ultrasound device in a low-resource emergency setting. We will continue to employ the device in clinical emergency care and teaching in this setting.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13089-020-00200-8Point-of-care ultrasoundHandheldButterfly iQResource-limited settingsEmergencyTropical infectious disease |
| spellingShingle | Samuel L. Burleson Jonathan F. Swanson Erin F. Shufflebarger Douglas W. Wallace Matthew A. Heimann James C. Crosby David C. Pigott John P. Gullett Maxwell A. Thompson Christopher J. Greene Evaluation of a novel handheld point-of-care ultrasound device in an African emergency department Point-of-care ultrasound Handheld Butterfly iQ Resource-limited settings Emergency Tropical infectious disease |
| title | Evaluation of a novel handheld point-of-care ultrasound device in an African emergency department |
| title_full | Evaluation of a novel handheld point-of-care ultrasound device in an African emergency department |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of a novel handheld point-of-care ultrasound device in an African emergency department |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of a novel handheld point-of-care ultrasound device in an African emergency department |
| title_short | Evaluation of a novel handheld point-of-care ultrasound device in an African emergency department |
| title_sort | evaluation of a novel handheld point of care ultrasound device in an african emergency department |
| topic | Point-of-care ultrasound Handheld Butterfly iQ Resource-limited settings Emergency Tropical infectious disease |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13089-020-00200-8 |
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