I’m sure you can agree that doctors and scientists get to play with the coolest gadgets. Take ultrasound machines for example. They allow a doctor to thoroughly check your insides without the need to cut you open or subject you to all that nasty gamma radiation like normal X-ray machines do.

Unfortunately, most ultrasound machines are not exactly portable due to their bulky size. But now, thanks to a company called Signos, ultrasound machines will become very portable which could aid physicians in the field trying to save lives during emergencies or disasters.

The company is calling their new cool medical gizmo the Personal Ultrasound. And as the title suggests, it is an ultrasound device that is very portable with a touch LCD display monitor about the size of PDA and weighing in at less than one pound.

Images on the ultrasound monitor can be captured

thanks to a microSD card which can store about 20,000 images and allows easy transfers to another computer for more detailed analysis of the pictures. The scanning wand is also just as easy to use and can be switched out to either 3.5MHz ot 7.5MHz frequencies just by unscrewing and replacing the tip on the scanner.

Unfortunately Signos doesn’t currently mention their price for the Personal Ultrasound unit. One could gather, however, that most of us without medical degrees could probably not afford one even though the company boasts that it is the, “most affordable ultrasound system available today.” Too bad. I bet those hypocondriacs out there would love to own one of these.

www.geek.com