The BBC is reporting on a brand new hand-held ultrasound machine that is now being used by the cardiac investigation unit at St. George's Hospital in South London. Called the Vscan, the small device, similar to a flip phone, can show moving color images of blood flow around the heart and by switching to black and white you can see heart valves opening and closing.  Much like the hand-held tricorders in Trekdom, the device gives doctors a portable view into the inner workings of the their patients bodies.

"Here we are giving people essentially an electronic stethoscope in their pocket that images and looks at all parts of the body." Says George Sutherland, professor of cardiac imaging at St George's.  "With adequate training this should mean we can diagnose rapidly and treat accordingly. It should be an amazing development."

Julie Walton president of the British Medical Ultrasound Society says "This type of system is designed for point-of-care ultrasound, where we take ultrasound to the patient rather then bringing the patient to ultrasound.  It also has the possibility to be used in many clinical settings such as primary care, intensive care and casualty".

Read the full article here.