Given that heart disease is the leading cause of death globally and in America, many patients who require hospitalization for any condition will receive an echocardiogram at some point during their hospital stay. An echocardiogram is a sonogram of the heart; an “echo” allows a cardiologist to examine both the structure and function of a patient’s heart and diagnose any issues or conditions. The sheer number of echocardiograms ordered at VCU Health, combined with the ongoing shortage of cardiac sonographers in recent years, thus caused Pauley Heart Center practitioners to become interested in a new type of cardiac sonography: the portable echo.

Today, thanks to a recent philanthropic gift, Pauley cardiologists are now equipped with portable echos, and are using these efficient, real-time decision-making tools in their care of Pauley patients.

Traditional echo machines are large and heavy, which increases response times when an inpatient echocardiogram is needed. Thanks to their small size and light weight—clocking in at five pounds—Pauley’s new Philips Lumify echo devices can be carried in hand by practitioners, thereby reducing response times in emergencies and allowing cardiologists to assess heart function more promptly and make decisions more efficiently.

For Hem Bhardwaj, MD, a coronary intensive care unit (CICU) attending physician, “portability is a huge advantage” of these new devices. However, the portable echo’s reduced size doesn’t mean the device sacrifices performance. These portable machines, Bhardwaj says, are just as accurate and reliable as the larger echo machines. The portable echos also complement, not replace, Pauley’s existing fleet of traditional echo machines, which are still needed for more advanced imaging.

Bhardwaj is already using the Lumify to make real-time decisions on her patients. “If a patient is short of breath,” says Bhardwaj, “I can use the hand-held echo to evaluate the patient’s heart function, evaluate for fluid around their heart, and evaluate their fluid status quickly and efficiently, and relay my findings in real-time to the patient.”