Sports medicine facilities, pain management centers, podiatrists, chiropractors…what do all of these, and many other medical specialties have in common? Injections.

In the past, injections were always carried out either blind or guided by fluoroscopy. However, within the past few years, sonography has been offering an interesting alternative. The use of ultrasound gives you the ability to continuously visualize the needle tip for procedural accuracy and safety.

Aside from the obvious advantage of a billable procedure adding to a physician’s revenue stream, ultrasound guided injections are a relatively inexpensive technique, without exposing the patient to radiation. Thanks to high frequency transducers, there’s been a great deal of technical progress and performance improvements to both diagnosis and treatment. Ultrasound gives physicians the ability to visualize and inject without effusion, and without contrast. This real-time visualization allows the avoidance of unnecessary damages to arteries, nerves, vessels and other structures.

Portable and affordable, the equipment provided by USC has accelerated interest in the use of ultrasound guidance. Blind injections on a correctly identified target still present the challenge of placement on the optimal site. The smaller and deeper the target, the greater the challenge and potential usefulness adding ultrasound to any physicians current skill set.

Ultrasound guidance of injections leads to almost optimum precision and safety without the use of ionizing radiation, the risk of allergy to iodine-based contrast media, and blind injection error. Our customers using ultrasound guidance see a 90% or better success rate with their injections, avoiding unnecessary damage and keeping the procedure as minimally invasive as possible – which keeps the patients happy! This technique will hold an increasingly important role in the arsenal of treatments for pain and disease for any physician during the lifetime of their practice.

The call to action for Ultrasound Solutions Corp. is to fill the dire need for “customer-centric” service. Why is the need dire? What does it mean for our customers?

We are a family oriented company. Take a moment and think about the best customer service you’ve ever received. How did that person make you feel? The best service comes from the people who treat you like family. And in the days of rising manufacturer costs, falling reimbursements and sky rocketing insurance premiums – medical facilities are constantly forced to produce more, with less. So the trend we’re seeing is physicians foregoing paying for anything that doesn’t feel immediately tangible – that being ultrasound maintenance and upkeep.

What if we could change the narrative? What if we would offer a level of service that made every customer, feel like our only customer? What if we could show medical facilities that excellent service, doesn’t have to break the bank? What if we could show physicians that a 24 hour response time doesn’t mean the difference between protecting their investment, and throwing caution to the wind?

USC is positioned to put an end to lost reimbursements, as well as an end to the drudgery of rescheduling a day’s worth of patients. We are the beginning of creating relationships that feel like family, not business deals that feel like a trip to the auto mechanic. Customer-centric means providing field service engineers who communicate on a personal level. It’s a conversation that asks you what YOU need. It means customized service agreements that fit YOUR budget. It’s the expertise of knowing when it’s time to repair, and when it’s time to replace.

The call to action for USC is to provide medical professionals with a consultant for diagnostic ultrasound imaging. The most successful people in the world have confidants they know and trust to make sound decisions with their investments. We are those consultants…we are USC.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, which is approximately 20 kilohertz (20,000 hertz) in healthy, young adults. Ultrasound devices operate with frequencies from 20 kHz up to several gigahertz.

Ultrasound is used in many different fields. Ultrasonic devices are used to detect objects and measure distances. Ultrasound imaging or sonography is often used in medicine. In the nondestructive testing of products and structures, ultrasound is used to detect invisible flaws. Industrially, ultrasound is used for cleaning, mixing, and to accelerate chemical processes. Animals such as bats and porpoises use ultrasound for locating prey and obstacles. Scientists are also studying ultrasound using graphene diaphragms as a method of communication.

History

Acoustics, the science of sound, starts as far back as Pythagoras in the 6th century BC, who wrote on the mathematical properties of stringed instruments. Echolocation in bats was discovered by Lazzaro Spallanzani in 1794, when he demonstrated that bats hunted and navigated by inaudible sound and not vision. Francis Galton in 1893 invented the Galton whistle, an adjustable whistle which produced ultrasound, which he used to measure the hearing range of humans and other animals, demonstrating that many animals could hear sounds above the hearing range of humans. The first technological application of ultrasound was an attempt to detect submarines by Paul Langevin in 1917. The piezoelectric effect, discovered by Jacques and Pierre Curie in 1880, was useful in transducers to generate and detect ultrasonic waves in air and water.

Definition

Ultrasound is defined by the American National Standards Institute as “sound at frequencies greater than 20 kHz.” In air at atmospheric pressure ultrasonic waves have wavelengths of 1.9 cm or less.

Approximate frequency ranges corresponding to ultrasound, with rough guide of some applications

“If Jonathan Rothberg has a superpower, it’s cramming million-dollar, mainframe-sized machines onto single semiconductor circuit boards. The entrepreneurial engineer got famous (and rich) inventing the world’s first DNA sequencer on a chip. And he’s spent the last eight years sinking that expertise (and sizeable startup capital) into a new venture: making your smartphone screen a window into the human body.

Last month, Rothberg’s startup Butterfly Network unveiled the iQ, a cheap, handheld ultrasound tool that plugs right into an iPhone’s lightning jack. You don’t have to be a technician to use one—its machine learning algorithms guide the user to find what they might be looking for. With FDA clearance for 13 clinical applications, including obstetric exams, musculoskeletal checks, and cardiac scans, Rothberg says the new device is poised to disrupt and democratize the medical imaging industry in the same way the Ion Torrent, his DNA sequencer, once made inroadsagainst genomics giant Illumina.

So how did a guy who floats around the Connecticut coast on a $40 million yacht named Gene Machine miniaturize ultrasound devices to the size of a postage stamp? It starts with a search for the beginnings of the universe.” …

… Continue reading: https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-is-putting-ultrasound-on-your-phone/

* For more information on USC, contact us at info@uscultrasound.com

If the cost of a new ultrasound system has been a barrier for your practice, then now is the time for you to get in touch with Ultrasound Solutions Corp (USC) for a look at options that will fit your budget and most certainly your imaging expectations. If you’re ready to upgrade your ultrasound system to a newer, higher resolution platform, let USC assist you with your purchase. All sales inquiries are reviewed by an experienced team of industry experts in order to help you select the system that best suits your practice and your budget.

USC is an authorized service provider for Supersonic Imagine, Esaote North America and Mindray ZONARE.

Esaote North America: The full line of ultrasound systems from Esaote North America are designed to meet the demands of real-world scanning environments. Whether for private practice, mobile services, hospitals or clinics, their multi-specialty systems offer outstanding image quality and advanced diagnostic capabilities for more confident diagnoses.

Supersonic Imagine: Conventional ultrasound can be insufficient when it comes to, among other limitations, noise content, resolution, optimization and acquisition rates, leaving you with inconclusive information to make your diagnosis. The Aixplorer® is a premium ultrasound system leveraging the unique UltraFast™ technology that is the foundation of several innovations which have changed the paradigm of ultrasound imaging: ShearWave™ Elastography (SWE™), UltraFast™ Doppler, Angio PL.U.S – Planewave UltraSensitive™ Imaging, TriVu, and now Needle PL.U.S.

Mindray ZONARE: ZONARE has been solely dedicated to ultrasound excellence through its next generation, software-based ZONE Sonography Technology (ZST). This innovative technology provides the platform for the company’s Living Technology – a constantly evolving architecture to meet the changing imaging needs of the clinician. ZONARE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mindray, a leading global provider of medical devices and solutions.

Learn more: http://www.uscultrasound.com/equipment.html

* For more information on USC, contact us at info@uscultrasound.com

Ultrasound equipment is sophisticated, and thus expensive. Extending its life makes sense.

Ultrasound Solutions Corp (USC) provides annual service agreements for servicing and maintaining your ultrasound equipment, keeping it in tip-top shape for the longest time possible, ultimately saving you time and money. Several levels of service coverage are offered, including plans that may be tailored to your facility. All service agreement levels meet AIUM and ICAEL accreditation standards and guidelines. And as a paperless company, all service reports generated on your behalf are done electronically which helps you make file archive and documentation easier to handle.

USC services and repairs all major brands and models of diagnostic ultrasound equipment. USC field engineers are all factory-trained ultrasound specialists who are ready, willing and able to resolve any ultrasound system issues you may be facing.

USC is an authorized service provider for Supersonic Imagine, Esaote North America and Mindray ZONARE.

Learn more: http://www.uscultrasound.com/equipment.html

* For more information on USC, contact us at info@uscultrasound.com

All health care providers want to make a difference in patients’ lives and do everything they can to produce successful outcomes. One way to demonstrate leadership in this regard is through professional accreditation and certification.

Ultrasound Solutions Corp. encourages and supports these achievements.

Getting From Here to There – Professional Organizations and Links:

AIUM – American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine

Practices are Accredited; individuals are Certified.

AIUM Accreditation is granted to a specific facility or practice. Receiving accreditation implies that a practice has demonstrated that all of its interpreting physicians meet relevant ultrasound training guidelines, case volume requirements, and continuing ultrasound education. All sonographers are or will become appropriately certified by a specific date, ultrasound equipment is adequately maintained, safeguards are in place, and there is regular monitoring for quality assurance.

Certification is given to individuals who meet educational and experiential requirements, pass an examination(s) and obtain continuing medical education in their field.

IAC – Intersocietal Accreditation Commission
(formerly the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories)

Physicians and technologists are required to complete 15 credits within the three-year accreditation period that complies with IAC standards. The individual(s) in charge of completing your practice’s accreditation/reaccreditation can guide physicians and sonographers toward the appropriate CME and CEU courses.

IAC – Vascular Testing

Interest in accreditation demonstrates the vascular testing facility’s commitment to quality patient care. The IAC can help with detailed standards/guidelines, preparing application materials, finalizing the application, fee information and more.

ACR – American College of Radiology

The ACR Appropriateness Criteria (AC) are evidenced-based guidelines to assist referring physicians and other providers in making the most appropriate imaging or treatment decision for a specific clinical condition.

ACR Accreditation is recognized as the Gold Standard in medical imaging. By displaying the gold seals of ACR Accreditation, you can demonstrate to your patients, payers and returning physicians that you are committed to the safest and best quality care practices possible. Become a Diagnostic Imaging Center of Excellence!

The ACR accredits facilities in the following modalities:

• Breast MRI
• Breast ultrasound
• CT
• Mammography
• MRI
• Nuclear Medicine and PET
• Radiation oncology practice
• Stereotactic breast biopsy
• Ultrasound

The Ultrasound Accreditation Program involves the acquisition of clinical images, submission of relevant physician reports corresponding to clinical images submitted, and quality control documentation.

* For more information on USC, contact us at info@uscultrasound.com

Now is the Time for Accreditation/Certification.

All health care providers strive to enhance patient safety programs, promote successful outcomes and cut liability insurance costs. How can provider organizations reach the highest professional level — and be recognized for that achievement?

Accreditation and Certification by The Joint Commission means the provider organization complies with or exceeds the toughest national standards for safety and quality of care. Earning The Joint Commission’s prestigious Gold Seal of Approval® alerts patients, insurance carriers, media and community at large that the provider has achieved an elite level.

An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to excellence in meeting key performance standards.

Accreditation

Joint Commission accreditation can be earned by many types of health care organizations, including hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes, office-based surgery centers, and other health care providers.

Certification

Certification is earned by programs that are based within or associated with a health care organization. An accredited facility can have a Joint Commission-certified program or services.

Ultrasound Solutions Corp. encourages and supports clients to “go for the Gold.”

Gold Seal Advantages:

• Helps organize and power patient safety efforts.
• Get an independent evaluation and recognition of standards compliance, clinical performance, and achievement /maintenance of advanced requirements.
• Strengthens community confidence in the quality of care and expertise.
• Provides a recognized competitive edge in marketing the office/organization.
• May reduce liability insurance costs.
• Improves risk management / reduces risk exposure.
• Provides education and best practices to improve business operations.
• Enhances staff recruitment and development.
• May streamline Medicare certification.
• Recognized by insurers and other third parties, easing eligibility for insurance reimbursement.
• May fulfill state regulatory requirements.

Link for Gold Seal accreditation: www.jointcommission.org/achievethegoldseal.aspx

* For more information on USC, contact us at info@uscultrasound.com