This pandemic has caused a great deal of confusion and concern. With lack of testing capabilities at every level, there are other symptoms to look at under ultrasound. The excellent image resolution and speed of acquisition of the images the Doctor’s job will be faster and easier.
While CT scanning remains the gold standard for lung disease, there are patient groups that cannot have significant radiation like pregnant women, children or patients who are undergoing radiation therapy. CT also presents another issue in that the patients need to be transported to the radiology department to have the scan. All that traveling will add to the risk of infection to other patients and staff.
This is where ultrasound comes to the rescue.
Our best systems for this pandemic have all the angles covered. We have looked at infection control, options, image quality, portability and ease of use. When all these factors are combined then that narrows the field to three options.
The three options are the Mindray TE5, Mindray TE7 and the M9.
All three have great image quality, and portability. The difference is that the TE5 has a single port and no cardiac functionality. The TE7 has a triple port and cardiac capability. The M9 has cardiac functions as well. All three are portable and take up little space when not in use.
The TE5 and TE7shine in the area of infection control. The screens can be locked while cleaning to prevent error. The seamless inset construction also makes for easier cleaning. You can opt for low level disinfection with wipes on both the machine and the transducers. There are other options for transducer cleaning but can be expensive, bulky and time consuming. The high level disinfection, such as a Trophon system, is possible for 15-20 minutes. There is the option of chemical immersion for the probes for 10 hours as recommended by manufacturer. Lastly, there are gas plasma systems for one hour for each session. The Z tracking system is a wonderful addition to the state of the art technology to allow for patient tracking for infection control purposes. This is an embedded chip in the ultrasound machine.
The M9 point of care machine is more difficult to clean. The user interface is difficult because the keys and knobs protrude. All the transducers can be cleaned by the above methods. Therefore extra care and time must be given to clean the M9 properly. However there are a range of recommended disinfectants for proper use.
Besides the Z tracking on the TE5 and TE7, there are other options for clinical expediency. iVocal provides touchless machine usability. Lung option that will allow for looking at and tracking of A-lines, B-lines, White lung and other lung pathology. This is invaluable with Covid-19. This technique for lung diagnosis is available when other forms of testing may not be and is accurate. This is the best alternative to CT. Other options include the EM presets, Rush, CVC, diaphragm, IVC, iNeedle and other unique measurement techniques.
All three machines are easy to use and have seconds of boot up time. The M9 is more traditional in the sense of the user interface. Plus the M9 has AutoEF for easy evaluation of cardiac function. The TE5 and TE7 is completely touch screen. All the modes are there and fully adjustable with just a touch. These systems have the best answer to this crisis.
Facts provided by Charles Li Mindray Corporation 2020
Experience provided by Lisa Bachan Applications Support Specialist
PLEASE CALL US WITH ANY QUESTIONS AT 843-566-1020.