Queen’s University Pioneers Training in Portable Ultrasound Technology

Published on: 2012/10/24 - in Featured Science & Tech

Queen’s University is the first university in the country to teach undergraduate medical students in the use of handheld portable ultrasound machines – a new curriculum developed to enhance patient care.

Until recently, ultrasound has involved large machines used by highly skilled operators. But the creation of handheld ultrasound (HHU) devices is now enabling physicians to take a limited image scan, which allows them to make quicker diagnoses and speeds up treatment.

Doctor Amer Johri (photo: left, with a group of medical students), Director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic Cardiology Division, considers the specialists at Queen’s to be “well ahead of the curve” in guiding the use of this new technology.

“The next generation of physicians are wired, gadget savvy and comfortable with technological advances,” said Dr. Johri. “We have no doubt this technology will alter how physicians conduct physical exams, enhancing the care they provide to their communities and patients.”

Other university medical schools are interested in knowing more about how Queen’s has integrated HHU training into their curriculum, and Dr. Johri will present his work at the upcoming Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.

The Cardiovascular Imaging Network at Queen’s (CINQ) has offered medical students the chance to acquire hand held ultrasound skills for the past two year during a summer elective, an elective during the school year, as well as using the technology as a tool for teaching anatomy lessons.

According to the University’s News Centre, programs to train internal medicine residents are underway with this innovative approach to teaching has earned the support of top administrators at Queen’s – including Dr. Anthony Sanfilippo – and been championed by enthusiastic medical students Curtis Nickel, Thomas Cawthorn, William Reginald, and Patrick Murphy.

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Photo: Queen’s University News Centre