Astimescontinuetochangeandsciencecontinuestoadvance,scientistsintheUnitedStateshavecreatedtheworld'sfirstsmartphoneultrasoundscanner,whichcouldrevolutionizehealthcareincountrieswithpoormedicalexaminationdata.

Themobileultrasoundscanner,calledMobiUS,plugsintoasmartphoneortabletanddisplaysultrasoundimagesonamobiledevice.Itsinventorsbelievethedevice'sportabilityandlowcostcouldrevolutionizehealthcareinthirdworldcountries.

Ultrasoundscansusehigh-frequencysoundwavestoscanthebodytoproduceimagesofhumanorgansfordiagnosisandexamination.Themostcommonisduringpregnancy,andultrasoundisalsousedtoexamineorganssuchastheheart,liver,lungs,bladderandbreast.Butultrasoundscannersareoftensolargeandexpensivethattheycanonlybekeptinhospitals.Peopleinpoorcountriesoftenhavetotravelalongwaytogetanultrasound.

Tosolvetheseproblems,scientistsspentthreeyearscreatingMobiUS,whichtransmitsultrasoundimagesoverthemobileInternetorWiFi.Thescannerneedstobecheckedwithitscompaniontabletorsmartphone,andtheinventorsareworkingonversionsthatworkwithApple'sIOSorAndroidoperatingsystems.

MobiUScostsjust£7,000,comparedwith£60,000foratypicalultrasoundscanningplatform."Ultrasoundissafeandeffectiveandcansavelives,butabout70percentoftheworld'spopulationdoesnothaveaccesstoultrasoundbecausethedevicesareexpensiveandnotportable,"saidSeleshChutani,CEOofMobiSante,amakerofultrasoundscanners."MobiUSisportableandaffordable,providingultrasoundtoremoteandemergencypatients."

Healsosaysaccurateandinexpensivediagnosisisthekeytoreducinghealthcosts.MobiUShasasimpleinterfacethatuserscanmasterinminutes.MobiUScanconnectorstoresharedultrasoundimagesoveranetworkforconsultationorremotediagnosis.

MobiUSisintegratedwithasmartphonewithpowersupplyandWiFi,andcanconnecttotheInternetforremotediagnosis.Thesefeaturesareespeciallyusefulinpoorareaswithlimitedaccesstoelectricity.