Chest pain? Pop on your ultrasound patch to see how much blood is pumping through your heart. Sudden pelvic twinge? Let the patch look for an ovarian cyst. Intestinal issues? Swallow the pill version to see what’s happening inside.
Then call up an artificial intelligence app on your smartphone to interpret the 3-D image: That blob is nothing to worry about — or, call your doctor!
Such gadgets are a few years away, but biotech entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg announced on Friday that he has taken a step toward that vision. “We put an ultrasound machine on a chip for the first time,” he told STAT ahead of his presentation of the device at a meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in Washington, D.C.
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Awesome. Just as our friend Eric Topol has requested/depicted- the patient will see you now! Imagine the future when either AI (maybe), or a network of tele-cardiologists (easy), will read your self study, on demand. For sure, lots to work out regarding regulatory, quality, data security. And lots to get excited for as we seek better patient experience, an Amazon like consumer edge, and affordable health care. The old technology needs to come down in cost if we are to see the benefits of the spectacular new gene edits, gene replacement therapies, which may be one time treatments with price tags of $1M or greater. check Spark Therapeutics, PDUFA January 2018.