Evaluation of tablet ultrasound for routine abdominal interventional procedures

The aim of the study was to establish if a novel tablet ultrasound (US) may replace a high-end US machine during routine interventional radiology activities.

Thirty consecutive patients were evaluated by two operators comparing the performance of the new US tablet system (VISIQ, Philips Healthcare) against a high-end US system (iU22, Philips Healthcare) using a curved probe (C5-2). A structured questionnaire was used to rank on a 4-point scale the ability of each system to locate a target as detected by previous examinations and visualize needles and path during an interventional procedure. Necessity for conversion from the tablet US to the high-end US system was registered; body mass index (BMI) was annotated for each patient.

Agreement between the operators was found for every patient. Mean patient BMI was 25 (range 17-34). Image quality of the tablet US was considered insufficient in 1 case to visualize the target and in another case to visualize the needle. Mean target image quality was superior with the high-end US system, while needle visibility scored higher with the tablet US. Conversion to the high-end system was registered in 40 % of cases: in most cases (66.6 %) the decision was due to the absence of a dedicated needle guide for the tablet US.

The novel tablet US was found to provide sufficient image quality for the majority of routine interventional procedures. Dedicated accessories and additional experience with this new generation US device may be needed to replace bulky high-end US systems.