The intensive care unit at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford has recently invested in a SonoSite X-Porte point-of-care ultrasound system, complementing its existing SonoSite Edge instrument.
Consultant intensivist and anaesthetist, Dr Justin Kirk-Bayley, said: “As a major cancer centre, we treat some very difficult and complicated cases, typically using ultrasound to guide line placement and the insertion of chest drains.
“Since the establishment of FICE – Focused Intensive Care Echocardiography – the use of echocardiography has grown, and there is also interest in performing lung ultrasonography. We invested in the XPorte to help us perform these more-advanced examinations.
“With X-Porte systems also in use in the radiology and A&E departments, this ensures continuity for the critical care outreach team and radiologists when attending seriously ill patients who are unable to be moved.”
He added: “The X-Porte has proved very popular, enthusing my colleagues and becoming the ‘go-to’ instrument. It offers an image quality previously seen only in the hands of an echocardiographer or a radiologist, and is simply a generation ahead.
The user interface is intuitive, the large screen is fantastic, and the system is very mobile. Another important feature is that the platform is heavily software-based and, therefore, dynamic. This effectively futureproofs the instrument, allowing it to evolve with us, as any subsequent enhancements are not limited by hardware constraints.”