GE CitizenshipLaptop-sized Ultrasound Reaches Canada’s Arctic Communities
Canada’s healthcare policies support the provision of services to individuals living in remote communities. Thanks to GE’s Vivid i, a laptop-sized cardiovascular ultrasound system, cardiologists from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute are able to deliver improved healthcare in Canada's remote Arctic communities, including Nunavut.
For a number of years, healthcare professionals from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute have traveled long distances to Nunavut, to provide healthcare support that is culturally sensitive and comfortable, in a setting that is familiar to the patient. The Inuit population lives close to the land, and continues its traditions of hunting and fishing. In the past, extensive travel to large cities for healthcare has proved to be extremely stressful for individuals and their families due to language and cultural barriers.
In the past, cardiology equipment had to be shipped from Ottawa in advance of the university team and set up in one location. The equipment was not easy to transport and required special attention. GE’s Vivid i has solved this challenge. The equipment can be carried by a technician like a laptop on a plane and is ready to use within minutes of arriving at a clinic. Care is provided in a clinic that is known to patients, and in a language that is familiar. The system enables cardiologists to determine the health of a patient's heart on-site within a short period of time that is a tremendous benefit for “fly-in” practitioners.