NOV. 1, 2005 | University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) students in Fayetteville, Texarkana and Little Rock watched simultaneously as a hand-held device produced live images of blood pumping through a person’s artery.

The demonstration for news media and Diagnostic Medical Sonography students was used at an Oct. 11 announcement in the Fred W. Smith Conference Center on the Little Rock campus that UAMS had acquired three of the new laptop computer-sized devices.

The new tools will enable students to gain more experience in performing and observing examinations used to pinpoint potentially life-threatening conditions in patients.

In addition to being portable, the new sonography devices, called the TITANÔ system, can provide high resolution color images to be downloaded and incorporated into lectures.  Previously, the sonography machines used in the program were the size of refrigerators and did not offer the same image clarity or connectivity.

UAMS bought one of the machines and the other two were donated by SonoSite Inc., the Washington-based maker of hand-carried ultrasound equipment

The SonoSite gift is valued at almost $100,000.

“Every single one of you will benefit from this gift,” UAMS College of Health Related Professions Dean Ronald Winters, Ph.D., told the sonography students at the three sites, which will each get one of the new devices. “This has been a quantum leap for us. It is the students who will benefit first, and the patients who will ultimately benefit.”

“UAMS is widely recognized as a leader in providing advanced, high-quality medical care,” said Bradley G. Garrett, SonoSite chief operating officer. “We are pleased to partner with them in the education of future generations of sonographers.”

The students observed from UAMS’ Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Northwest in Fayetteville and AHEC Southwest in Texarkana.

The sites were tuned in to UAMS’ interactive video network, which allowed them to see, hear and respond to the experts carrying out the demonstration on the 12^th floor of the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.

Terry DuBose, director of the DMS program at UAMS, said, “Sonography is one of the most operator-dependent medical procedures because of the skills required to produce the most useful images for diagnosis.  So there is no substitute for demonstrations in a setting where the students – no matter where in the state they are – can ask questions and observe the results.”

A sonogram is a non-invasive technique that uses high-frequency ultrasound waves to produce diagnostic images of the body’s internal organs and structures. The diagnostic medical sonographer assists the physician in gathering anatomical, physiological, and/or pathological sonographic data and images to diagnose or assess a variety of conditions and diseases.

In a hospital or clinic setting, a sonogram of the heart, called an echocardiogram, can be used to diagnose heart disease or other abnormalities. Vascular sonography of the carotid arteries can be used to find vascular disease such as arteriosclerosis or obstructions in blood vessels.

Liver and gall bladder sonograms can be used for diagnosing gall stones or pancreatic cancer. Another well-known use of sonography is during pregnancy to track development of the fetus.