Hand-held ultrasound success at Addenbrooke’s

Professor Morris Brown, head of Clinical Pharmacology at Addenbrooke’s, said, “The portability and ease of use of our new SonoSite MicroMaxx ultrasound system means I can scan all my new patients, follow up after one year if the initial echo revealed an abnormality and, for some research projects, monitor the effects of different therapies on different patients.

“Ideally all patients with hypertension should have an echo because it is the best predictor of long-termprognosis, but, before we used the hand-carried systems, we had to be very selective over which patients to echo and even those we did refer had to wait weeks or months for their scans.

I am now able to offer patients instant answers in the clinic and we can make decisions during the appointment rather than later, saving them and us time in further appointments. We are interested in looking at left ventricular mass, as evidence that the blood pressure elevation is sustained over a period of time and not just white coat hypertension- a common issue in managing hypertension- and, secondly, looking for evidence of left ventrical dysfunction.”