The GE Brief: March 16, 2021
MEET VSCAN AIR™
Like many doctors fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Yale Tung Chen, an emergency medicine clinician in hard-hit Madrid, Spain, contracted the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. As so many others have done, he immediately quarantined at home and began monitoring his symptoms — chills, cough, low-grade fever and a nagging headache. But he also knew that his overt symptoms were not the full picture of the disease. The virus could be lurking in his lungs, heart and other organs. Getting that information quickly could affect prognosis and treatment.
Making the rounds: After he recovered and returned to the hospital, Tung Chen became one of a handful of clinicians around the world testing Vscan Air™, a pocket-sized, wireless ultrasound scanner developed by engineers at GE Healthcare. The device, which beams images from the ultrasound probe to an app on his smartphone, quickly became common practice on his daily rounds. “I just carry it in my white coat pocket and start to scan right at the moment when I see a patient,” he says. “I’ve been using it on COVID-19 patients, scanning hearts, lungs, blocked vessels, any organ in the body I could reach. It allows me to quickly perform a complete exam on my patient and make decisions quickly right at the bedside.” Other clinicians will soon have the same opportunity. “We pioneered handheld ultrasound when we brought the first pocket-sized, color device to market, and now we see Vscan Air™ as delivering on the future of healthcare at a time when ultrasound has proven to be an essential tool at the point of care,” says Anders Wold, president and CEO of global ultrasound at GE Healthcare.
Click here to learn more about the Vscan Air™.
HEARING THE CALL
Jaquelin Solis remembers when her father broke his arm. She and her family had only been in the United States for a few months, and her parents, Spanish-speaking Peruvian immigrants, hesitated to seek medical treatment. “They felt embarrassed by the fact that they were not able to communicate, and because they thought they would be a burden to the doctor,” remembers Solis, who was 10 at the time. But after her dad’s wrist swelled, the family relented and headed to the hospital. Solis, with her limited English, was designated to speak for her father. “It was like we were mute and the doctor was deaf,” she says. The experience left a strong impression on Solis. She decided to become a doctor, setting her sights on becoming a primary care physician in mostly Spanish-speaking communities that lack access to healthcare.
Seeking fellowship: Fifteen years later, in 2019, she enrolled at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Last summer, she landed a fellowship with the NMF Primary Care Leadership Program (PCLP), which gives students the opportunity to work in primary care at community health centers across the U.S. These centers are the main source of medical care for nearly 30 million people, offering services regardless of people's ability to pay. The goal of PCLP, which was co-founded in 2012 by National Medical Fellowships and the GE Foundation, is to encourage more medical students to work at these centers, not just as doctors but as leaders. “[It is] a chance to learn what it takes to run and manage these settings to provide high-quality care at modest cost for the people who are in the greatest need,” said Dr. H. Jack Geiger, a pioneer of the community health care system, who served as an NMF board member until his death last year.
Click here to learn more about the PCLP program.
TAKING THE LEAD
At the end of a year that saw record growth in power generation from wind turbines, GE surged to become the world’s leading installer of the machines. Renewable power developers added a record 96.3 gigawatts of wind turbines in 2020, up 58% from the year before, according to research from BloombergNEF. It was the first time since 2015 that GE had claimed the top spot. The company overtook Vestas Wind Systems, which had been the leading installer for the past five years.
U.S. surge: What helped drive GE to the top in 2020? Demand surged in the U.S. by 77%, with 16.5 GW of new wind power coming on line. And GE supplied 9.4 GW of that. The Western Spirit Wind project in New Mexico, an installation built by the southwestern utility Pattern Energy, exemplifies the rising demand for wind power. The project, powered by 377 2 MW turbines from GE Renewable Energy, is set to deliver more than 1,050 megawatts of renewable energy from four separate wind farms. That will make it the largest wind installation in the state, when completed, capable of powering the equivalent of 590,000 homes.
Click here to learn more about the growth in demand for wind power.
COOLEST THINGS ON EARTH ?
1. Flu Supervaccine
A scientist at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln aims to develop a flu vaccine that could protect against several strains of the flu with a single jab.
2. Future Body Parts
Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo created a 3D-printing technology that can print tissues and organs.
3. Warp Speed
A Göttingen University astrophysicist designed a theoretical warp drive that uses conventional energy sources to travel faster than light without violating Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Learn more here about this week’s Coolest Things On Earth.
— QUOTE OF THE DAY —
“I cannot imagine the future without this handheld ultrasound.”
— Dr. Mirna Salloum, general practitioner and emergency medicine doctor in Paris and clinical evaluator for Vscan Air™
Quote: GE Reports. Images: GE Healthcare, Jaquelin Solis, GE Renewable Energy