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My friend the sonographer finally got her demo of Sequoia. While impressed with the capabilities, she did indicate some difficulties associated with it. For example, she cited that a strong indication of fetal Down's syndrome is a anechoic(??) bowel, which displays as a white area on a sonogram. Unfortunately, with Sequoia, bowels of normal fetuses show up as white, leading to confusion on the part of sonographers and sonologists. My friend hastened to add that with proper re-orientation clinicians could distinguish between Down syndrome and normal fetuses with Sequoia, but she cited that as an example where some retraining will be required. She also indicated that she would need more than a one day demo to ascertain whether or not Sequoia would really be a benefit in her department, which deals with high-risk pregancies. She'd like three days with the machine, but that is out of the question.
The head of her department would like to have a Sequoia, or even an Aspen, in the department (they currently have the predecessor to Aspen). They were told they would have to go on a waiting list if they wanted Sequoia. My friend indicated that even with the difficulties, having a Sequoia was a kind of status symbol, and people wanted them irrespective of whether or not they could effectively make use of the capabilities. The whole question of whether or not to buy was somewhat moot in the case of her department, as they do not have the money to acquire Sequoia and do not foresee having the money in the near future.
I would still appreciate any comments from you on the clinical advantages of colorflow imaging (cf. my previous post to you). Might color imaging expand the purview of medical ultrasound (thereby expanding the market) or would it more likely simply improve capabilities in existing areas of application? Also, would a department likely be able to replace existing ultrasound equipment with Sequoia, or would they be more likely to purchase Sequoia as an addition to whatever equipment they currently have?
Regards,
Larry |
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