A NEW CUTTING EDGE

DEVICE IS BEING USED BY THE MEDICAL STUDENTS AT QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY.

ULTRASOUND SPECIALISTS HAVE NOW INCLUDED A NEW HAND HELD DEVICE - SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT IN YOUR POCKET - AS A PART OF THE NEW CURRICULUM.

NEWSWATCH'S MELISSA NAKHAVOLY REPORTS.

 It looks like a smartphone...that

saves lives.

this new pocket size device can scan the body to speed up patient care.

 Dr. Amer Johri has been working closely with the handheld ultrasound device for the past two years and has introduced the new gadget to the medical students at Queen's University.

Dr. Johri

"While you're assessing the patient you can take pictures of heart and get an idea of what the patient's condition is".

 Margaret Casses is teaching students the new cardiovascular curriculum.

"They responded really well i think they like the idea of getting exposed early to this kind of technology. It was nice interacting with them because they were really amazed with how they could use bedside echo in clinical scenarios".

 Melissa Nakhavoly

 "It's important to note that this new cutting edge device is used to enhance patient care but by no means used to replace the larger ultrasound system."

 Dr. Johri

"What it does is give you a quick look at an image of poorer quality than a larger scanner but the advantage is you can see things right away."

Margaret

"The thing is you have to have trained individuals to actually use this technology and I've seen cases - it's dangerous if an individual feels or thinks that they're comfortable with kind of technology but they're not really well trained to know what they're looking for."

 This kind of technology doesn't come cheap. The price tag for this technological advancement ranges around the 8000-dollar mark... a price which Johri feels is neccesary to pay to support an innovative approach to the future of medicine.

Dr Johri

"Other medical schools have heard about the work we are doing at Queen's and I've periodically been getting calls from Program Directors out west and out east trying to find out about this technology and how we employ it at Queen's"

 The next step now for Dr. Johri and his team is to present information on his medical work at the upcoming Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.

Melissa Nakhavoly, CKWS Newswatch.