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GE Debuts Vscan, the 'Stethoscope of the 21st Century'

by Peter Mychalcewycz on October 21, 2009 at 07:21 PM

One of the medical profession's most iconic instruments is getting a serious upgrade. The "stethoscope of the 21st century" was unveiled yesterday at the Web 2.0 summit by General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt. The Vscan, which looks like the lovechild of a Motorola RAZR and an iPod, places the power of ultrasound into the palm of a doctor's hand, and is set to increase the ease and effectiveness of the routine check-up.

Traditional stethoscopes, essential as they have been for the medical profession as a whole, have serious and obvious limitations as a diagnostic instrument. Among those limitations, of course, is the device's exclusive dependence on sound. The Vscan literally provides a more complete picture of what is going on inside a patient at any given moment. Its ability to display ultrasonic images of various internal organs and its super-portability make it a revolutionary upgrade to the traditional doctor's tool kit.

We may be momentarily nostalgic for our doctor's old stethoscope, but we'll get over it. It was always too cold, anyway. [From: Venturebeat]

Tags: health, medical, stethoscope, top, ultrasound, vscan

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