AuntMinnieTV: New convertible ultrasound scanner

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

When you think "convertibles," an ultrasound scanner may not be the first thing that leaps to mind. But a new company that debuted at this month's RSNA meeting is out to change perceptions with a technology they're calling "convertible ultrasound."

The firm, Zonare Medical Systems of Mountain View, CA, used the RSNA show to launch its new z.one system. The unit's novel design enables it to function either as a compact, hand-carried ultrasound scanner to take to the patient's bedside, or converted to a more traditional cart-based unit for use in the imaging suite.

The z.one scanner also employs what Zonare calls zone sonography, in which ultrasound information is captured in zones rather than in individual lines, as occurs in conventional systems.

In this second AuntMinnieTV segment, you'll learn all about Zonare and convertible ultrasound -- and you can view dynamic clips of images acquired with the system. To see the video, just click here.

To watch our previous AuntMinnieTV segment, on the use of diffusion-tensor MRI (DTI) to image the neurological changes in children caused by attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), just click on the link to the right.