A PoCUS Focus if you will…
Ultrasound is becoming an invaluable tool in prehospital care. Its portability and ease of use make it an ideal technology for the prehospital setting. Ultrasound allows rapid evaluation of trauma patients, but also facilitates assessment of stroke patients, fractures and facilitates invasive interventions, such as nerve blocks.
The PICT Team regularly use prehospital ultrasound (read a patient’s story HERE) and are working to develop the evidence base for its use in prehospital care.
Scanning the Brain – Research from the Highlands
Supporting Novice Prehospital Transcranial Ultrasound Scanning
for Brain Haemorrhage
Leila Eadie, L, Regan, L, MacAden, A,
& Wilson, P
Traumatic brain injury is a significant problem due to difficulties in early diagnosis in the field. A
cheap, portable scanner such as transcranial ultrasound (TCUS) could allow early triage and intervention.
Initial testing has been performed in healthy volunteers and further testing is planned in
patients with brain haemorrhage.
Read HERE
Remotely Supported Prehospital Ultrasound : Real-time Communication for Diagnosis in Remote and Rural Communities
Eadie , L , Mort , A , Regan , L , MacAden , A S & Wilson , P
An ambulance-based US machine captured standard
trauma and novel trans-cranial US scans from 10 healthy volunteers
at 16 locations across the Scottish Highlands. Images from novice
and expert scanners were streamed with an audio/video feed via a
novel satellite/cellular communications device to reviewers in
Inverness for interpretation.
Time to diagnosis could be significantly improved if
pre-hospital scanners receive training and gain experience using US
and have stable, reliable transmission of images to expedite
remotely-supported diagnosis.
Read HERE
Pre-hospital utilisation of ultrasound: a hands on exploration of the utility of
ultrasound in the remote setting
Regan, L
Pre-hospital diagnostics are increasingly being used to guide
interventions and better inform transfer decisions for patients in
remote locations. Point of care ultrasound examinations have
moved from the radiology department to the emergency room to
the back of the helicopter over a few short years, with evidence of
utility in a variety of applications.
Modalities covered
will include imaging techniques for pleura, aorta, deep veins, intra
abdominal fluid, raised ICP, cardiac echo and regional anaesthesia.
Read HERE
Read more about the team’s use of ultrasound for a patient HERE.
All ultrasound images used on this website are taken from Team members during training, with full permission and consent.
Highland PICT 