Researchers with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have developed a computer-based training method that teaches nonphysicians to operate ultrasound as if they were technicians.
Crew members on four International Space Station (ISS) missions already have trained with the program and performed ultrasound techniques while in space. In space, ultrasound can be used to assess numerous injuries such as trauma to the eye, shoulder, or knee; tooth abscesses; broken or fractured bones; collapsed lung; hemorrhaging; or muscle and bone atrophy.
Dr. Scott A. Dulchavsky, a researcher on NSBRI's Smart Medical Systems Team, and colleagues developed an education method that reduces the time it takes to learn to operate an ultrasound system from some 200 hours annually to two to three hours a year.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
November 4, 2005
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