Biplane Imaging using Portable Ultrasound Devices for Cardiac Imaging

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) plays an integral role in diagnosing and optimizing the care of patients in a wide variety of clinical settings, ranging from the operating room to the intensive care unit, emergency department, and office-based practices. Low-cost handheld ultrasound systems that connect to mobile phones or tablets have become widely available and are being used by clinicians at the bedside to complement their physical exam and guide their decision making. The capabilities of these portable ultrasound systems have evolved over time, including implementation of biplane imaging (also referred to as X-plane imaging), that allows simultaneous imaging the heart in two orthogonal planes. This "GPS of cardiac imaging" was previously only available for needle guidance and vascular access. We detail the first reported use of biplane imaging for cardiac imaging using an inexpensive portable ultrasound probe based on advanced semiconductor technology (also known as "ultrasound on a chip") in a healthy volunteer for demonstrative purposes and describe its potential clinical applications.