In the era of COVID-19, remote technical assistance has become big deal. GE Healthcare showed its Digital Expert technology at the ASE 2020 virtual meeting, which allows remote one-on-one echo training or ultrasound machine technical assistance. It became an important service for GE since the start of the pandemic.
August 19, 2020 — From point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) that has been a key technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, to robust technology that is enhancing efficiency and clinical care, over 20 companies and organizations displayed their latest products and services at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) 2020 virtual meeting, Aug. 8-10, 2020. Here are the highlights of what vendors showed on the virtual trade show floor:
• ASE highlighted its ImageGuideEcho Registry, a brand-new registry platform that will feature the ability to seamlessly submit directly from PACS, which opens the doors to more research opportunities and technology development. The registry will soon include images and will be expanding to include pediatrics and peri-operative echo.
• Canon Medical Systems USA highlighted its advanced echocardiography solutions that are designed to make echo easier, including the new Auto EF with Global Longitudinal Strain (GLS). Auto EF with GLS automatically calculates ejection fraction while adding GLS into the results. Available for the Aplio i-series and Aplio a-series ultrasound platforms, this unique feature streamlines workflow while integrating strain analysis into routine exams, without adding steps or time.
• GE Healthcare will be showcasing a variety of solutions for ultrasound, including portable solutions to help with scanning COVID patients, case studies for ultrasound enhancing agents, and cardiovascular IT solutions to help enhance efficiency. As the industry looks at more virtual options, Digital Expert is a great mobile solution that delivers virtual face-to-face training for clinicians and their team. And check out the latest innovations from the handheld ultrasound, Vscan Extend, including the LVivo EF app from DiA Imaging Analysis for AI-based automated ejection fraction analysis.
Watch more in the VIDEO: AI-Assisted Automatic Ejection Fraction for Point-of-Care Ultrasound
• Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc. said echocardiography has become an indispensable tool during the COVID pandemic. Lantheus Medical Imaging sponsored a symposium during the ASE 2020 Virtual Experience entitled "COVID-19: Realizing the Value of Enhanced Echo." Dr. Smadar Kort and Susan Dillon discussed cardiovascular related complications of COVID-19, shared clinical cases and provided practical insight on the use of enhanced echo to expedite patient management decisions.
• CAE Healthcare unveiled its new CAE Vimedix 3.1 release with powerful solutions to address the challenges imposed by social distancing guidelines. Our high-fidelity ultrasound simulator now allows users to host virtual lectures and remote interaction designed for distance learning. Vimedix 3.1 includes new embedded eLearning curriculum that allows faculty to create customized training exercises and capture performance metrics. CAE will also be showcasing our new COVID-19 POCUS suite of products, encompassing our CAE ICCU eLearning content, Vimedix COVID-19 pathology and CAE Blue Phantom COVID-19 Lung Simulator.
• Caption Health showcased Caption AI, having recently received its third FDA clearance in six months. The Caption AI platform, which includes Caption Guidance and Caption Interpretation, makes it radically easier for healthcare providers to perform diagnostic-quality ultrasound exams, regardless of prior experience. Caption Guidance provides real-time guidance and automated quality assessment to help users optimize and capture diagnostic-quality images, emulating the expertise of a sonographer. Caption Interpretation produces an automated ejection fraction calculation from any combination of three ultrasound views: apical 4-chamber (AP4), apical 2-chamber (AP2), and parasternal long-axis (PLAX).
Read more in the story FDA Clears Caption Health AI-assisted Point-of-care Ejection Fraction Evaluation
• Core Sound Imaging Inc. introduced robust study comparison and peer review tools to the Studycast system. The tools enable the comparison of measurements, observations and findings across exams, with highlighting to flag differences. Data can be exported for further analysis. Combined with existing study de-identification functionality, the new compare tools can be used for peer review, QA/QC programs, and oversight of residency programs.
• Digisonics provides essential technology to physicians working remotely, which has become exponentially more important than it was just a year ago. Staying connected to patients and having access to the tools to provide the best clinical care are essential. Digisonics' HTML5 WebView is a zero-footprint application that provides fast, secure access to cardiovascular images and reports from home or anywhere with report editing and e-signature capabilities. Digisonics DigiNet Pro provides fully-functional remote reading via Citrix or VDI with access to the entire CVIS including high-performance image review with real-time image playback, measurement capabilities, and fast structured reporting.
• EchoNous showed its Kosmos system for POCUS. By uniting artificial intelligence with handheld ultrasound, Kosmos empowers physicians to act quickly, confidently, and with clinical certainty. Our AI apps calculate ejection fraction in seconds and support physicians through cardiac scanning with auto labeling, guiding, and grading. The Kosmos device also packs auscultation and ECG into one tool so doctors can see more, know more, and do more right at the point of care. Optimized for the heart, lungs and abdomen.
• Epsilon Imaging showed its EchoInsight Zero Footprint (ZF), offering a seamless, efficient workflow allowing users to read from any workstation or device with a web browser. With the same robust strain imaging technology established in the EchoInsight platform, EchoInsight ZF includes LV and RV strain imaging analysis, automated cardiac function measurements based on ASE guidelines, and serial study comparison capabilities. EchoInsight ZF enables a scalable deployment architecture across multiple locations for improved IT support, along with consolidation of patient data to enable AI tools enabling predictive analytics for patient management. EchoInsight ZF will be available in the fall of 2020.
• Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A. Inc. highlighted its Synapse Cardiology PACS, part of the comprehensive and interoperable Synapse Enterprise Imaging portfolio. The system brings the complete patient picture to today’s cardiologists. The solution provides inherent interoperability, integrates with third-party software, and continuously evolves to keep pace with the ever-changing healthcare environment. With the introduction of Synapse Cardiology PACS version 7.0, Synapse Cardiology PACS and Radiology PACS unite through one common diagnostic viewer to help improve care coordination, standardize clinical workflows, and enhance clinical decision making through greater image and information access.
• The National Board of Echocardiography Inc. (NBE) announced the Critical Care Echocardiography Exam (CCEeXAM) is now administered internationally. The exam will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, at domestic and international Prometric testing centers. The deadline to register is Tuesday,
Dec. 1, at noon Eastern Standard Time.
ASE is the Society for Cardiovascular Ultrasound Professionals. Over 17,000 physicians, sonographers, nurses, veterinarians, and scientists are members of ASE, making it the largest global organization for cardiovascular ultrasound imaging and as such the leader and advocate, setting practice standards and guidelines for the field. The society is committed to advancing cardiovascular ultrasound to improve lives. For more information about ASE, visit ASEcho.org. For more information about the ASE 2020 Virtual Experience visit ASEScientificSessions.org.
June 12, 2024 
