Philips Showcases Point-of-Care Ultrasound System at Medica

Stacy Charter is not a famous actor, nor is she a philosopher, poet, politician or professional athlete. She is an ordinary person—a divorced cancer survivor and aspiring author who claims to have placed “little pieces” of herself online. One of those pieces reads: “Life is all about timing…the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable becomes available, the unattainable, attainable. Have the patience, wait it out. It’s all about timing.”

Executives with Philips Healthcare certainly can attest to the accuracy of Charter’s insight. The Andover, Mass.-based division of Royal Philips Electronics began marketing its new point-of-care ultrasound system earlier this year, but corporate managers waited until this week—when the timing was right—to host a product release party for Sparq on the world stage. And their timing couldn’t have been better: Philips Healthcare attended both Medica 2011, the world’s largest medical product exhibition (held Nov. 16-19) in Düsseldorf, Germany, and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine’s 10th annual meeting (held Nov. 17-20) in New Orleans, La. The Sparq system was showcased in both locations.

Philips describes Sparq as a mobile system designed to provide immediate, intuitive ultrasound imaging for guidance during regional anesthesia and pain medicine procedures. The system also can be used at bedside to examine critically ill patients in hospital emergency rooms and critical care units. Sparq’s intuitive user interface, automation and image quality make the system easy to learn and use, Philips Healthcare executives claim in a news release.

Sparq has several key distinguishing features, including an ergonomic design with adjustable height and a 17-inch monitor based on an articulating arm that provides flexibility in challenging environments. It also has a long battery life (the company did not provide a lifespan estimate) and a sealed, tempered glass control panel for easy cleaning.

“The faster, safer workflow created by ultrasound can be further enhanced by cutting down on time spent at the controls before and during the scan,” said François Boscheron, international market manager for the point-of-care ultrasound business at Philips.

Ultrasound guidance is widely accepted as positively impacting procedures such as venous line or catheter placement, targeted drug delivery, and assessment and follow-up monitoring of a patient’s condition in intensive care units. In addition, ultrasound needle guidance for regional anesthesia not only speeds up the process but also reduces the risk of complications such as hematoma and other injuries arising from hitting vessels or nerves, a more likely occurrence during “blind” procedures.

With accurate needle visualization therefore crucial to patient safety, Sparq joins the ranks of ultrasound scanners that have such needle visualization and target distance estimation features, without any trade-off in image quality, according to Boscheron.

Sparq is designed with an Intuitive Dynamic interface that eliminates the need for knobs and buttons. Its Simplicity Mode provides users with a one-touch solution that gives them only the ultrasound functions used most often. The autoscan feature continuously adjusts the ultrasound image while scanning, thereby reducing the need for interaction with system controls during the procedure.

Sparq’s needle visualization feature enhances the presentation of the needle without degrading the image, helping to facilitate quick needle guidance. The system also has an on-screen gridline display that provides a visual target and distance estimation, company officials said.

Sparq departs from traditional ultrasound packages in its remote service option that facilitates remote maintenance and repair, and also allows users to ask questions about procedures or load additional presets, such as those that might be needed for regional anesthesia. In addition, Sparq generates “quick” reports dedicated to point-of-care imaging studies, rather than adapting them from existing traditional templates.

The point-of-care market is one of the fastest-growing areas of medicine, outstripping traditional health markets with 12 percent growth between 2008 and 2010, according to industry data.

The Sparq point-of-care ultrasound system wasn’t the only new Philips product to make its world debut at Medica, however. The company also showcased a number of innovations from its Mother & Child Care business, which is designed to support developmental care, from the hospital to the nursery, and from intensive care units to home care. One of the most recent innovations is the NeoPAP Infant CPAP delivery, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) delivery and treatment system for newborns and infants with respiratory distress syndrome or those recovering from the condition. The NeoPAP does not need to be fitted tightly to the infant’s face, and can be used with both CPAP and flow modes. Coupled with Baby-Trak leak compensation technology, the NeoPAP can accommodate even the tiniest of babies.