A Product Evaluation of Augmented Reality Equipment Coupled to Diagnostic Medical Sonography: A Potential Equipment and Ergonomic Innovation

by Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography| Kevin D. Evans | Peter Bradbury | Isaiah W. Bloom | Menglin Xu

Innovations to ultrasound equipment systems have continued at a steady pace and in many ways have improved imaging quality but also required sonographers and vascular technologists to adapt to changes in workflow. Although a relatively “young” diagnostic imaging technique, sonography has been through a parade of innovative upgrades, to the ultrasound equipment system, over the last 76 years. An overview of these hardware and workflow changes has not only been historic but can be divided into themes or generations. As a profession, sonography has moved through 3 generations of significant upgrades to the basic ultrasound equipment system and this parallels the evolution of personal computers. Following the progression of the personal computer, historically, the hardware has gotten smaller and the software more robust. Likewise, the ultrasound equipment system has also changed in size and configuration; however, the changes in workflow were not considered simultaneously. The ergonomic adaptions required of sonographers and vascular technologists were secondarily addressed and historically this resulted in manufacturers focusing on reducing fatigue and creating operations that were more intuitive. The introduction of augmented reality (AR) coupled to an ultrasound equipment system marks a potential new generation of imaging but this time being designed with an ergonomic focus.

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