A laptop that looks into your heart

An Indian medical technology firm has configured a laptop that can do a heart scan, abdomen scan and even a pregnancy test while retaining its basic functions like writing a note, preparing presentations and sending an e-mail.

'Though portable ultrasound machines are not new in India, this machine doubles up as a laptop and a multi-utility ultrasound machine. It is easy to use, carry and send body images even to your e-mail,' said A B Sivasankar, director (imaging) of Trivitron Medical Systems.

He said the system runs on a standard Apple Mackintosh laptop computer, which is integrated with a fusion processor and a unique, custom-designed, integrated ultrasound chip set.

The familiar Windows graphical user interface makes the system intuitive and easy to use. The t3000 laptop is designed for general, vascular, and breast imaging, interventional radiology, image-guided intervention, endocrinology, laparoscopy, neuro-sonography and nephrology.

The laptop has collar Doppler for better imaging of a total body scan and weighs around three kilograms. The price varies between ₹1.2 million (over $30,000) and ₹3 million, depending on the type of configuration a doctor wants, Sivasankar said.

He said Trivitron got the licence from US-based Treason company in November and has so far configured just four such laptops for doctors - two in Bangalore and one each in Chennai and Jaipur.

The laptop, doctors said, helps them do their job more easily and efficiently.

'Now a patient or a doctor need not always go to a hospital for any kind of tests like heart scan, thyroid scan, abdomen scan and even pregnancy tests. This helps one to reach the bedside of a patient and treat him,' said Vinutha Shivakumar, a radiologist in Bangalore.

'You can do the scanning of different parts of your body and get the image printouts through the same laptop. The images can also be transferred to a PowerPoint presentation or emailed for convenience of a doctor or a patient,' Shivakumar said.

Though the machine is small, she said the scan's image quality and precision is like any other bigger machine used across the country.

'I have started using it just two weeks back and have used it to diagnose over 150 patients so far. I am satisfied with the output,' she said.

Shivasankar explained that a sensor attached to the laptop sends sound waves inside the patient's body and the laptop placed nearly half a metre away will display internal images, blood flow and blockages inside the organ or body part.

'This machine we hope will be a hit in India. We are also planning to make it available to doctors in countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,' he said.

A leading medical equipment manufacturing and marketing company of the country, Trivitron is headquartered in Chennai. The company is coming up with a medical technology park in Chennai. It is handling over 150 products across 15 medical specialties.