The palm-sized Acuson P10 ultrasound scanner appears this week as a commercial product from Siemens Medical Solutions along with the laptop-based Acuson P50. The P50 is designed for mobile environments but is outfitted with diagnostic-level capabilities, including high-quality gray-scale as well as color and Doppler imaging. Its primary applications will be in cardiology and vascular imaging.

The much smaller P10 is designed as a complementary diagnostic tool in initial patient workup and can play a role in emergency care, obstetrics, and cardiology. Because of its portability, it also could be used in ambulances and Medevac helicopters as well as in intensive care units. Weighing only 1.6 pounds, the pocket-size device is outfitted with a flip-up screen. It appeared at last year's meeting as a work-in-progress and was released as a commercial offering in September.