Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht (DRF) says it has become the first air rescue organisation in Germany to deploy portable ultrasonic devices.

Since the beginning of 2004, the emergency rescue and intensive care transport helicopters at DRF air rescue centres in Freiburg, Leonberg, Mannheim and Oschenfurt have been permanently equipped with

the ultrasonic devices ‘Primedic Handyscan’ by Metrax.

Another Primedic Handyscan is available on-demand for the missions of DRF ambulance aircraft that are stationed at Karlsruhe/

Baden-Baden airport.

The portable ultrasonic device is said to enable the emergency physician to attain a fast diagnosis and add life-saving time. “With the ultrasonic examination, emergency physicians are able to undertake a diagnosis immediately at the scene of an accident,” said Dr Jörg Braun, medical director in the air rescue alliance Team DRF. “They are able to identify if a patient is suffering from internal injuries that urgently need

to be operated on.

“The medical crew can decide on the spot, which hospital can treat

the patient most appropriately.

They can also supply the hospital doctors with important and detailed information about the patient’s injuries. This enables the doctors to prepare a possible emergency operation even before the helicopter arrives with the patient.”

The use of the portable devices was tested in a one-year pilot study

at the University Clinic of Emer-gency Surgery in Frankfurt/

Main, Germany. Approximately 230 emergency patients were treated during the pilot study.

“The test phase has shown that the emergency physicians decided to admit a fifth of the patients to different target hospitals than they would have, without the pre-hospital ultrasonic examinations,” said Dr Felix Walcher of the University of Frankfurt, who headed the study into the portable devices.

“In addition, due to the more

exact nature of the diagnosis, the medical crew of the helicopter can treat and manage the individual injuries more appropriately.”

Due to the positive results of the study and thanks to donations, DRF says it plans to equip further helicopters of its fleet with the Primedic Handyscan.