Page 6 - SFHN SEPTEMBER 2021

Best in Class Ultrasound System Helps Reduce Risk of Work-Related

Musculoskeletal Disorders

BY DANIEL CASCIATO technology is a lack of diagnostic imag- each major mode to reduce user vari-
ing quality for obese patients,” says ability and deliver high quality imaging
Work-Related Musculoskeletal Dis - Diaz. “This is due to a lack of depth in with no user interaction. In order to
orders (WRMSDs) are painful injuries transducers, and it is leading to another address these challenges, ACUSON
affecting the muscles, nerves, liga- key trend - high occurrence of injury Sequoia was built from the ground up
ments, and tendons of up to 90% of for sonographers. Due to lack of depth, with a new architecture called Bio -
sonographers and other users of diag- sonographers need to apply extra pres- Acoustic imaging technology; designed
nostic medical sonography, according sure to the abdominal area of obese to deliver more image clarity and pene-
to the Society of Diagnostic Medical patients, which leads to a high inci- tration than the conventional ultra-
Sonography. dence of shoulder, hand, and wrist sound system.”
Aside from the lasting personal toll, pain.” The ACUSON Sequoia is also
sonographer injury intensifies work- Throughout a sonographer’s career, equipped with AutoDoppler technolo-
force shortages, which can cause unex- the additional force required by tradi- gy. Immediately upon freeze, Auto -
pected operational and financial chal- tional transducers will have a cumula- Jennifer Diaz Doppler will automatically optimize
lenges for an ultrasound department. tive negative impact on the arm and relevant Doppler parameters with no
An injured sonographer’s direct and shoulder muscles. When this force is approach enables the DAX to obtain user interaction and all those parame-
indirect costs have been estimated at added to the muscle firing required to clinically relevant information on high ters, including the scale, can be adjust-
$771,500 for employers, which maintain arm abduction or excessive body mass index (BMI) patients when ed in post-processing.
includes worker’s compensation, the reach to the patient, the injury risk conventional transducer technology Finally, the ACUSON Sequoia also
average cost of medical expenses, lost increases significantly. fails.” has the advantage of being early in its
revenue and recruiting a new or tempo- "When speaking with ultrasound In an ergonomic assessment by product lifecycle. According to Diaz,
rary sonographer. experts, we hear time and time again Sound Ergonomics, an analog pull- this helps to maximize return on
An injured sonographer can be detri- that as patients get larger, they are chal- push force gauge by M&A Instruments, investment as there will be a pathway
mental to institutions and clinics facing lenged to get reliable and diagnostic Inc., was used to provide a quantitative of sustained innovation and upgrad-
financial strain and lack of workforce images in an ergonomic and economic estimation of the amount of transducer ability for years to come.
readiness due to COVID-19, notes way," says Diaz. “The deeper the ultra- pressure exerted while scanning. The “It’s about confident imaging in the
Jennifer Diaz, an Account Executive in sound signal needs to penetrate; the DAX transducer required approximate- most challenging cases,” Diaz says.
the Equipment Sales Department of more attenuation occurs resulting in ly 70 percent less force than the con- “Our DAX transducer is just one exam-
Med-Lab, an Advanced Partner of image quality degradation and some- ventional transducer on a large model ple of how the ACUSON Sequoia can
Siemens Healthineers in South Florida. time results in an inconclusive image or patient. Using the ACUSON Sequoia help deliver diagnostic confidence
One of the biggest causes of WRMSD repeat exams, sometimes in another with DAX transducer can help to often limited by conventional technolo-
is patient obesity. It is the most signifi- modality.” reduce the transducer pressure and gy. Another major focus is on reducing
cant barrier to practicing ergonomic The ACUSON Sequoia, the flagship decrease muscle strain when scanning ultrasound variability. Powerful
scanning techniques according to a ultrasound system from Siemens high BMI patients compared to conven- automation helps to reduce variability
recent publication on the ergonomic Healthineers, is able to address this tional transducer technology. amongst users and improve image qual-
scanning techniques for sonographers. challenge. A patient’s varied physical character- ity with no user interaction. Remember,
Although equipment position changes “The ACUSON Sequoia seeks to istics and user dependent variabilities ease of use not only pertains to the con-
and modifications of work postures can solve this problem by powering the can negatively impact a clinician’s abil- trol panel, buttons and probe place-
reduce injury risk, one factor in which patented and industry exclusive Deep ity to deliver an accurate diagnosis. ment; but also, the ease and ergonomics
sonographers have no control over is Abdominal Transducer (DAX), “With the ACUSON Sequoia, of acquiring the image. ACUSON
patient body habitus. Sonographers enabling unprecedented imaging of 40 Siemens Healthineers provides users Sequoia ushers in a new era in ‘ultra-
often need to exert excessive transduc- cm depth through an advanced form of with a solution to confidently image sound ergonomics’.”
er pressure while scanning to provide Multi-D beam formation,” says Diaz. varying patient types, including those
diagnostic-quality images of obese “This level of penetration is a 30 per- with high BMI,” notes Diaz. “In addi- For more information,
patients. cent improvement compared to con- tion, it enables powerful automation in visit med-lab.com.
“A main key trend in ultrasound ventional ultrasound. This novel

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6 September 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News