The Ultrasound Powered Clinician

Putting Ultrasound Between Doctors’ Hands and Patient Bodies

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Dr. Oron Frenkel, Clinical Lead at Providence Health Care. They discuss the value ultrasound can bring to physicians, why the stethoscope will die and be replaced with handheld ultrasound devices, and the evolution of at-home ultrasound use for monitoring and care.
Topics discussed:
The path that led Dr. Frenkel to Vancouver, and the opportunities available for an ultrasound-trained physician in Canada.
How Dr. Frenkel's training integrated ultrasound, from medical school to residency, and why he took a fellowship in ultrasound to continue learning the skill.
Why ultrasound can provide a lot of value to rural physicians who don't have the access to the resources city physicians do.
How ultrasound is evolving to become the "new stethoscope," and how it's now spreading into specialities to be used for quick diagnostics, procedures, and monitoring.
How many use cases for ultrasound exist, especially for at-home monitoring, yet regulations are holding it back.
Why every physician should put an ultrasound device between their hands and the patient's body in order to improve the quality of data that can be gathered from a patient
The exciting possibilities of the future of ultrasound created by those who have always used the device.
Resources Mention: 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/oron-frenkel-b1370341/

Why Healthcare Needs to Embrace Technology and Preventive Approaches

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Dr. Raymond McConville, Medical Director and Preventive Care Physician at TELUS Health Care Centres. They discuss Dr. McConville's journey to Canada and to preventive medicine, the tools he uses for in-office screening and early diagnosis, and why handheld ultrasound will replace the stethoscope. 
Topics discussed:
Dr. McConville’s journey from running a family practice in the south of England, to working in rural British Columbia, to eventually moving to Vancouver to focus on preventative care.
Why healthcare needs to turn more towards preventative care in order to preempt more serious problems, and why ultrasound imaging is a key tool to help look for early signs of disease.
Why handheld ultrasound provides more information and faster diagnosis than a stethoscope, and why it should be introduced and integrated from the first day of medical school.
How ultrasound can provide faster and better quality care at the bedside, and give answers immediately that could take weeks with off-site imaging.
How those unfamiliar with ultrasound can overcome hurdles to adoption, and why learning ultrasound — like with a stethoscope — requires guidance and practice.
Why healthcare needs to evolve its tools to the 21st century, and how ultrasound adoption will increase because of evangelists and physicians who champion the technology.
Resources Mention: 
TELUS Health: www.telus.com

How Ultrasound ”Takes the Blindfold Off” of Aesthetic Procedures

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Dr. Pat Pazmiño, Owner of Miami Aesthetic. They discuss how Dr. Pazmiño has integrated ultrasound into his aesthetic practice to give him full visibility into the procedures he performs, as well as his work to ensure standardized better safety for BBLs and fat grafting in Florida.
Topics discussed:
How using ultrasound "takes the blindfold off" and gives full visibility into surgeries and procedures, with no more risky guessing.
How Dr. Pazmiño taught himself ultrasound on a Chinese laptop-based system he bought on eBay, and the progression of ultrasound technology he's used in his practice, from compact systems to handheld.
The benefits ultrasound can bring to patients, including giving a surgeon the ability to be a better communicator by showing a patient what will be done during the procedure.
How patients are open and receptive to ultrasound, and want a practitioner who prioritizes their safety.
Dr. Pazmiño's involvement in changing regulations around how Brazilian Butt Lifts are performed, influencing the Florida Board of Medicine's requirement that ultrasound guidance be used in all procedures so as to reduce injury or death.
The future of ultrasound technology, including the function of AI and the desire for more preset mode for specific procedures.
Resources Mention: 
Miami Aesthetics: MiamiAesthetics.com

Trading a Stethoscope for a Handheld: How Ultrasound Can Become the Ultimate ”Wow” Device for Doctors and Patients

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Dr. Thomas Cook, Program Director for Emergency Medicine at Palmetto Health/University of South Carolina. They discuss Dr. Cook's longtime use of ultrasound for quickly diagnosing patients, his twenty-five years of training other doctors to reap ultrasound's benefits, and how he wows his patients with the technology.
Topics discussed:
How Dr. Cook learned ultrasound through a serendipitous moment, and why he's essentially traded in his stethoscope for a handheld ultrasound device.
The ways in which ultrasound has evolved in both capabilities and size, from massive lab-based machines to a handheld device that can be carried in the back pocket "like a wallet."
How Dr. Cook saw ultrasound usage and training expand as it resulted in more positive results and important life-altering diagnoses for patients.
Why handheld ultrasound overcomes the barrier of logistics and hesitancy to rolling in a cart-based system during busy times — it's already in your pocket and ready to use.
Why patients view ultrasound as "the ultimate wow" and how seeing inside their body helps patients better understand their illnesses.
Advice for practitioners just getting started in ultrasound, including the need to practice, practice, practice.
The opportunities for advancement in ultrasound technology, and how AI models can improve in order to provide better training and guidance.
Resources Mention: 
3rd Rock Ultrasound: 3rdrockultrasound.com

From the ER to Facial Aesthetics: Increasing Patient Trust and Safety with Ultrasound

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Danice Sher, founder of Sparkle Aesthetics. They discuss her career journey from using ultrasound as a PA to incorporating it into her facial aesthetics practice, how ultrasound draws in patients who are looking for a safety-minded practitioner, and the evolution of ultrasound technology then, now, and into the future.
Topics discussed:
Danice's unique career journey, leading from pre-med to stand-up comedy to becoming a physician's assistant, and how today she runs her own facial aesthetics practice.
What attracted Danice to ultrasound while working in emergency medicine, and how she ramped up her expertise by watching procedures on YouTube and practicing in a simulation lab.
How Danice transitioned to performing facial aesthetics, and why ultrasound is an essential tool for her procedures.
The safety that ultrasound guidance can bring to facial aesthetic procedures, and how being a safety-minded practitioner is a draw for patients and a differentiator for her business.
Advice for new practitioners on how to approach and utilize ultrasound in their practice, and why you don't need to know everything you're looking at on the screen to get value from the technology.
The evolution of ultrasound capabilities for procedures, the benefits and drawbacks of different ultrasound options, and how handheld ultrasound features will evolve in the future.
Resources Mention: 
Sparkle Aesthetics: www.sparkleaesthetics.com
Instagram: Dani_Sparkle_PA
 

EP 6: How Handheld Ultrasound Improves Pain Management and Patient Results

In this episode, Ohad speaks to Dr. David Rosenblum, Director of Pain Medicine at Maimonides Medical Center. During the episode, they discuss the use of handheld ultrasound for quicker patient care, why ultrasound offers better benefits to pain management, and why handheld ultrasound is the future of medicine.
Topics discussed:
What initially attracted Dr. Rosenblum to handheld ultrasound, and why he said "This is the future" when he encountered it.
The benefits of having handheld ultrasound in a practice, including the time saved treating patients by having a wireless device, better image quality, and more portability.
The patient experience with ultrasound, and how patients notice the superior care they receive from doctors who use ultrasound for injections over doctors who don't.
Where the industry needs to improve their ultrasound education, and how to address fear and misunderstanding to close the gap between those who know how to use ultrasound and those who don't.
Why it's time to abandon the old fashioned way of "fishing around" for nerves and use ultrasound to get injections correct each time, without added pain for the patient.
What the future of handheld ultrasound might look like, the role AI will play in ultrasound training, and dream features that will help with patient care.
How to increase the adoption of handheld ultrasound among physicians, especially as patient demand for it will only rise.
Resources Mention: 
Painexam.com
NRAPpain.org

EP 5: Guiding the Way on Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Dr. Gregory Hickman, the Medical Director and Anesthesia Director at the Andrews Institute Ambulatory Surgery Center. He's also co-founder of BlockJocks.com, a website that provides video training on ultrasound-guided anesthesia.
Topics mentioned: 
How Dr. Hickman initially brought handheld ultrasound into his practice, and why he saw it as the future of medicine.
The benefits of portable ultrasound over laptop-based systems.
The practical applications of ultrasound in administering blocks, placing catheters, and doing other procedures.
Advice for doctors on how to bring ultrasound into their practice, including a step-by-step guide on how to flatten the learning curve.
What the patient response has been to portable ultrasound and technology usage in the practice in general.
Where is the future of ultrasound going, and in which areas it will grow.
Resources:
Andrews Institute
BlockJocks.com

EP 4: Bringing Handheld Ultrasound to Cardiac Care

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Dr. Zachary Laksman, a Cardiologist and Heart Rhythm Specialist at The University of British Columbia, with a background in cardiogenetics. He is also the director of St. Paul’s Hospital's Atrial Fibrillation Clinic and the British Columbia Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic.
Topics mentioned: 
What attracted Dr. Laksman to portable ultrasound for his practice.
The differences between traditional echocardiogram and handheld ultrasound, and how handheld ultrasound allows for more focused, question-based, immediate care.
The data revolution in portable devices and wearables, and how it's changing patient care.
The benefits to patients who can see their own heart and get answers to their questions in real-time, without having to rely on static charts and diagrams.
How machine learning and artificial intelligence will benefit cardiac care today and into the future.
The meeting point between imaging and genetic data, and how ultrasound can help identify underlying conditions that could benefit from genetic testing.
Advice for practitioners who have yet to adopt portable ultrasound.
Resources:
St. Paul’s Hospital
Dr. Laksman on Twitter

EP 3: The Practical Applications and Visible Benefits of Ultrasound

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Dr. Alex Del Duca, a specialist in Pain Management and Sports Medicine based therapies at West Coast Injection Training who utilizes ultrasound in order to "keep the residents of Vancouver Island moving."
Topics mentioned: 
How Dr. Del Duca brought ultrasound into his practice, and why he moved away from landmark-guided injections to ultrasound-guided injections.
What steps he took in overcoming the ultrasound learning curve, and advice for other physicians who want to adopt ultrasound.
What value ultrasound creates for his patients, and the benefits of being able to show a patient their issue on a screen in realtime.
Why all new physicians should begin their training with ultrasound, and why landmark-guided injections are going to become a thing of the past.
Where the future of ultrasound is headed, including automatic recognition, shareable videos, and printable procedure reports.
What tools or teaching will help slow adopters bring ultrasound into their practice.
Resources: West Coast Injection Training’s website

EP 2: How to Use Ultrasound to Deliver a Safer and More Predictable Level of Care to Patients

On today’s episode of the Ultrasound Powered Clinician, Ohad speaks with Dr. MJ Rowland-Warmann about her journey, why she’s so passionate about ultrasound, and the powerful benefits ultrasound has brought to her patients and practice. 
Topics mentioned: 
Dr. MJ’s career journey and how her practice evolved from dentistry to medical aesthetics.
What initially attracted Dr. MJ to ultrasound technology. 
Practical tips for clinicians looking to bring ultrasound technology into their practice. 
How Dr. MJ uses ultrasound to address patient safety and improve patient management. 
The financial and non-financial ROI Dr. MJ has seen from bringing ultrasound into her practice.
Why Dr. MJ is so excited about the impact AI can have on driving adoption of ultrasound technology. 
Resources
www.smileworks-hub.co.uk